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PATRICK HENRY: "iF THIS BE TREASON, MAKE THE MOST OF IT ! 



The Beginner's 



History of Our Country 



BY 

HARRY F. ESTILL 

\\ 

PRESIDENT SAM HOUSTON STATE NORMAL INSTITUTE, HUNTSVILLE, TEXAS; 
ASSOCIATE AUTHOR OF "THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY" 



DALLAS, TEXAS 
THE SOUTHERN PUBLISHING COMPANY 

1919 



A 



TO MY WIFE 

LOULIE SEXTON ESTILL 

THIS LITTLE BOOK 

IS DEDICATED 



Copyright, 1901, 1912, 1918, 1919 

By Harry F. Estill jyfj 26 1919 



©CLA529041 



ZVvij 



ss< PREFACE 

The Beginner's History of Our Country, as its 

, title indicates, is designed to introduce the study of 

l American history. The underlying idea throughout 

the book is adaptation to the nature and needs of 

the child. Some distinctive features of the plan may 

here be noted. 

In the first place, unlike some primary histories in 
common use, this is not an abridgment of a larger 
history. To attempt, within the narrow limits of a 
primary textbook, to present all of the events of our 
national life that are commonly considered impor- 
tant from the adult's standpoint, would be to reduce 
the narrative to little more than a catalogue of names 
and dates. Moreover, some events and movements 
in our country's history are absolutely beyond the 
comprehension of an immature mind. To require 
the young pupil to memorize statements upon such 
subjects is nothing short of a pedagogical crime. 

On the other hand, The Beginner's History of 
Our Country is not a story book. It is not made 
up of disconnected biographies of a few great Ameri- 
cans. Even in this early stage of his school life it is 
deemed important that the pupil gain a connected 
view — incomplete though it be — of his country's con- 
tinuous life and progress. 

Accordingly, in the preparation of this book the 
author's purpose has been to present only such events 
as may be brought within the range of the child's 



in 



iv PREFACE 

comprehension and interest. The space allotted to 
the subjects selected is not apportioned according to 
adult ideas of historic importance. The sequence in 
the presentation of topics is not always that of 
chronology. The biographical treatment is freely, 
but not exclusively, used; individual biography is 
subordinated to the biography of the Union. The 
aim has been to give the learner a connected view 
of the life of our country in some of its simpler 
aspects rather than a series of disconnected views 
of the lives of great Americans. 

Inspection of the table of contents will show that 
each chapter contains one central thought, some 
important historic movement or situation which is 
placed before the pupil in the chapter heading. In 
connection with the central thought the biographical 
element is introduced to give interest, life and action 
to the narrative. Loyalty to the memory of their 
fathers who fought for deathless principles, respect 
for honest differences of opinion and belief, admira- 
tion for noble character, in whatever section it has 
its home, are three elements of the earnest and hope- 
ful patriotism which this little book is intended to 
arouse in the breast of the children who study it. 

In the mechanical execution of the book, as in its 
authorship, the idea of adaptation to the pupil has 
been steadily kept in view. With large print, excel- 
lent paper, abundant and artistic illustrations, and 
helpful maps, the publishers have left nothing undone 
that would contribute to the pleasure and benefit of 
the learner. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. The Finding of America 

1. Christopher Columbus 1 

2. Discoveries of Columbus 7 

3. The People Whom Columbus Found 17 

4. Some Results of Columbus' Discoveries 21 

II. Making Homes in the New Land 

1. Walter Raleigh 29 

III. Virginia and Her Neighbors 

1. John Smith — Virginia 38 

2. Virginia's Northern Neighbor — Maryland . . . . . 54 

3. Virginia's Twin Southern Neighbors — The Carolinas . 59 

4. Virginia's Youngest Neighbor — Georgia 63 

IV. Massachusetts and Her Neighbors 

1. Myles Standish — Massachusetts 71 

2. The Little Neighbor of Massachusetts — Rhode Island . 81 

3. Two Other Neighbors of Massachusetts — Connecticut 

and New Hampshire 82 

V. Pennsylvania and Her Neighbors 

1. William Penn — Pennsylvania ......... 83 

2. Pennsylvania's Little Neighbor — Delaware .... 90 

3. Pennsylvania's Twin Neighbors — The Jerseys ... 90 

4. Pennsylvania's Dutch Neighbor — New York .... 91 
VI. The Rise of New France 

1. Cartier, the Explorer 97 

2. Champlain, the Father of New France ..... 100 

3. The Founders of the Louisiana Territory .... 

(a) La Salle 104 

(b) The Le Moyne Brothers . , 109 

VII. Pictures of Life in the Colonies 

1. General View of the Colonies 119 

2. Story of a New England Boy ........ 123 

3. Story of a Southern Boy 133 

VIII. The French War and the Downfall of New France 

1. Colonel George Washington 145 

IX. English Colonies Become Independent States 

1. General George Washington and the War of the 

Revolution 1.S5 

X. How a Patriot Served His Country 172 

XI. The Winning of the West 

1. Daniel Boone, Hunter and Pioneer 178 

2. George Rogers Clark, Conqueror of the Northwest . . 183 

3. John Sevier, State Builder 187 

v 



vi CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XII. The United States Government Formed 

1. President George Washington 190 

XIII. The United States Doubles Its Size 

1. Thomas Jefferson, Statesman and President .... 197 

2. We Purchase Our First New Territory 202 

3. We Teach the Pirates of Africa a Lesson .... 207 

XIV. The War For the Freedom of Our Seamen 

1. Andrew Jackson, Soldier and President 209 

2. Purchase of Florida 209 

XV. Three Great Inventions 

1. The Steamboat 217 

2. The Railroad 222 

3. The Telegraph 223 

XVI. A Period of Peaceful Development 

1. Three Great Statesmen — Calhoun, Clay, Webster . . 225 

XVII. Westward Expansion 

1. Sam Houston, Founder of the Texas Republic . . . 240 

2. Texas and the Pacific Slope Added to the Union . . 244 

XVIII. Our Country Divided 

1. The Story of Two Kentucky Boys 250 

(a) Abraham Lincoln 251 

(b) Jefferson Davis 254 

2. Formation of the Confederate States 258 

XIX. The War Between the States 

1. The Beginning of the War 265 

2. West of the Alleghenies 267 

3. The Defense of Richmond 269 

4. After the Surrender . .271 

XX. Our Country Reunited 275 

XXI. The War to Make Cuba Free 

1. Story of the War 280 

2. Results of the War 283 

XXII. The Indians Made Citizens 

1. An Indian Inventor . 287 

2. The Last Territories Become States 290 

XXIII. The World War for the Freedom of Mankind 

1. War with Mexico averted 292 

2. War with Germany 295 

Appendix 

1. List of the Presidents 308 

2. Index 309 



The Beginner's 

History of Our Country 



CHAPTER I 

The Finding of America 
Christopher Columbus 

Our Country Long Ago — A long, long time ago, long 
before our great-grandfathers and great-grandmothers 
were born, this country of ours looked quite different 
from the way it appears to us to-day. True, the same 
great rivers flowed 
down to the sea 
as now, the same 
hills and moun- 
tains lifted their 
heads above the 
valleys and plains ; 
but there were 
no railroads and 
telegraph lines in 
that long-ago 
time; there were 
no schools, no 
churches, no indian wigwams and canoe. 




2 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

houses, no farms. Not a single white man lived 
in all this land. There were some queer-looking 
red-skinned people here, whose clothes were made of 
the hides of animals, and who lived in huts, or wigwams, 
and roamed from one part of the country to another, 
hunting deer in the forest, or buffalo on the prairies. 
Would you like to learn how the first white man found 




INDIAN BUFFALO HUNTERS. 



his way to this country ; how other white men came, after 
the first bold sailor had shown the way; how homes were 
made in the woods, fierce enemies were driven away, 
schools, churches, and towns built? Would you like to 
learn how our country grew from a few scattered farms 
and settlements along the seacoast to the greatest na- 
tion in the world? In the pages of this book this story 



THE FINDING OF AMERICA 3 

will be told. To begin with, let us see how the first white 
men came to our country. 

The Old Town of Genoa. — In the far-away land of Italy 
is an old town named Genoa, built on the shore of the 
Mediterranean Sea. The streets of this town are nar- 
row and crooked, the houses are tall, with steep, pointed 
roofs, small windows, and balconies hanging over the 
sidewalks. The people speak a different language from 
ours, so you could not understand them if you should 
hear them talk. The part of the sea that touches Genoa 
is so shut in by the land 
that it makes a fine harbor, 
w r here ships are safe from 
storms. Here, every day, 
for hundreds of years, 
ships have been coming 
and going, loaded with 
freight for the merchants of Genoa. Among the 
Genoese boys of long ago who loved to spend their holi- 
days at the water's edge were three brothers, Chris- 
topher, Diego, and Bartholomew Columbus. These 
boys took great delight in watching the busy sailors un- 
loading their strange cargoes of silks, spices, and jewels, 
and in listening to their stories of the distant lands they 
had visited. Christopher, the oldest of the boys, often 
declared to his younger brothers that he would one day 
be a sailor, and the captain of the finest of the ships. 

A Genoese Schoolboy — The father of Christopher Co- 
lumbus was a wool-comber, that is, a man who earned his 
living by combing wool so as to smooth and straighten it 
for the cloth-makers. Noticing Christopher's fondness 




THE HOME OF COLUMBUS. 



THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 



for the sea, he sent the boy to school, where he could study 
those subjects that would be of use to him as a sailor. 
The schools of that day were quite different from our 
schools. The art of printing had been known only a 

short time, and it is probable 
that Christopher Columbus 
had never seen a printed 
book. A few printed books 
might have been found in 
the libraries of the learned 
men of Genoa, but most 
books of that time were 
rolls of paper, on which the 
words were written with 
pen and ink. In the schools 
the pupils had no books, but 
learned w T hat the teacher 
told them, sometimes writ- 
ing down or committing to 
memory what he said. Geography, astronomy, and nav- 
igation were the studies to which Christopher devoted 
most of his time, for as a sailor he would have to know 
each of these subjects. 

Geographies of That Day — Most teachers of geogra- 
phy in those times taught that the earth was flat, though 
there were a few learned men who believed that it was 
round. While a schoolboy, Christopher probably heard 
both of these beliefs expressed, but which was correct 
no one knew. Europe, Asia, and the northern part of 
Africa were the only countries then known. No one 
could say how far Africa extended toward the south, 




CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 



THE FINDING OF AMERICA 



or Asia toward the east. North America, South Amer- 
ica, Australia, and the Pacific Ocean had never been 
heard of, and so were not found on any maps. The 
Atlantic Ocean was called the "Sea of Darkness/' be- 
cause so little was known about it. The maps of the 
world Columbus learned to make were like the one on 
this page. 

The Schoolboy Becomes a Sailor. — When Christopher 
was fourteen years old his father took him from school. 
The boy did not like his father's trade of wool-combing, 
however, and to his great delight he was allowed to be- 




MAP OF THE WORLD STUDIED BY COLUMBUS. 

come a sailor. He soon learned all about sailing a ship, 
and was so apt, diligent, and skillful that in a few years 
he became captain of a vessel. On trading voyages, or 
fighting with the enemies of his country, Columbus 
visited the most important ports on the coast of the 
Mediterranean Sea. 

He Makes His Home in Portugal. — If you will find the 
country of Portugal on the map, and observe that it 
borders on the Atlantic Ocean, and also is situated at 



6 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

the entrance of the Mediterranean Sea, you will not be 
surprised that the people of Portugal have always been 
skillful sailors. When Columbus was a boy, the Portu- 
guese had begun to explore the coast of Africa, trying to 
find how far south it extended. Prince Henry of Por- 
tugal encouraged these voyages of discovery, and estab- 
lished a college where everything relating to navigation 
was taught by the most learned teachers of Europe. 
Portuguese sailors soon became famous for their daring 
and successful voyages. Columbus was always glad 
when his duty took him to Portugal, where he could hear 
of the latest discoveries, and perhaps learn something 
new about the art of navigation. One day, when at- 
tending church in the city of Lisbon, the capital of 
Portugal, he saw a young lady sitting near him who 
was so beautiful that, try as hard as he might, he could 
not listen to the service for looking at her or thinking 
about her. This young lady was the daughter of a 
famous Italian sailor who was employed by the king 
of Portugal. Columbus contrived to meet the lady, and 
persuaded her to be his wife. After his marriage he 
made his home in Portugal, and, when not away on 
the sea, earned his living by making maps and charts. 

Were you ever far in the woods or on the wild prairie, out of sight 
of all signs of human beings? If so, tell how you came to be there, 
and what you saw. 

What can you say of the appearance of all this country before the 
first white people came? Tell all you can about Genoa. Who was 
Christopher Columbus? His father? How did Christopher and his 
brothers spend their spare time ? Tell of Christopher's school. What 
different views about the earth's shape did Christopher hear? What 
parts of the world were then known? (What parts of the world are 



THE FINDING OF AMERICA 7 

unknown to-day?) At what age did Columbus have to stop school? 
What did he then do? Why were the Portuguese skillful sailors? 
What had the Portuguese done to advance geographical knowledge? 
How did Columbus come to make his home in Portugal ? 



DISCOVERIES OF COLUMBUS 



A Great Voyage Planned — Not many years before this 
time, a venturesome Italian traveler had passed over the 
mountains, valleys, and plains of western Asia, and had 
visited India, China, and Japaa This traveler, Marco 




THE KNOWN WORLD IN THE TIME OF COLUMBUS. 

Polo by name, returned to Europe with wonderful reports 
of the wealth of these distant lands. Rich merchants at 
once sent out trading expeditions to get some of the silks, 
spices, and gums- of India. The trade in these things 
would have been highly profitable if it had not been that 
part of the journey to India had to be made by land. In 
those days land transportation was slow, expensive, and 
dangerous, because goods had to be carried on the backs 



8 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

of horses or camels through countries infested by robbers. 
Therefore wealth and fame awaited the sailor who should 
find an all-water route to India. Portuguese sailors were 
trying to reach the coveted land by sailing around the 
southern end of Africa. Columbus began studying the 
problem, and kept thinking about it while drawing his 
maps or making his voyages. "If the earth is round, as I 
believe it is," said he, "why cannot I reach Asia by going 
west?" He concluded that a voyage westward across 
the untried waters of the Atlantic Ocean would bring 
him to the eastern shores of Asia, and he decided to 
make the attempt as soon as he could get the necessary 
ships and men. 

What People Thought of the Plan. — To the people of 
his time this bold plan of Columbus seemed almost as 
foolish and dangerous as a proposal to cross the ocean 
on a bicycle would seem to us to-day. Some said he was 
crazy and pitied him. Others made fun of him. They 
told him that if the earth were round, as he claimed, 
men on the other side would be walking with their heads 
downward, and that his ships would have to sail up-hill 
to return to Europe; that in mid-ocean the waves were 
boiling hot, and were the home of terrible sea monsters 
ready to swallow any ship daring enough to venture 
among them. 

Disappointments — Years passed by. One hot summer 
day two travelers, foot-sore and dust-stained, stopped for 
food and rest at the gate of a convent a few miles from the 
town of Palos, Spain. One of the strangers was a man 
of tall figure and thoughtful face, the other a boy about 
eight years of age. The travelers were Christopher 



THE FINDING OF AMERICA 



9 



Columbus and his son, Diego. They were welcomed to 
the convent, and in answer to the questions of the kind 
priest, Columbus told his story. His young wife had 
died soon after the birth of his son. Endeavoring to 
carry out his plan of sailing westward to India, and find- 
ing himself too poor to hire ships and men for the voy- 
age, he had applied to the king of Portugal for help. 




COLUMBUS AT THE COURT OF SPAIN. 

The king listened to his plan, but declared his ideas 
foolish fancies. Columbus had then visited Spain, and 
asked King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to aid him in 
his plan. But the people of Spain were in the midst of 
a great war, and no one would listen to poor Columbus. 
Disappointed and almost heartbroken, he and his little 
son were leaving the country; hunger and weariness 
forced them to stop at the convent. 



10 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 



Help at Last — The prior, or director of the convent, 
was deeply interested in the story of Columbus and de- 
termined to do his best to help him. He introduced 
Columbus to the rich shipowners of Palos, and, best of 
all, secured for him a meeting with the queen. To Queen 
Isabella Columbus showed his maps and charts, and 
explained his plan of reaching India by sailing west- 
ward. He begged her to 
aid him. The good queen 
was so impressed with the 
story that she declared she 
would pledge her jewels if 
necessary to provide ships 
for the voyage. By the 
aid of the queen and of two 
rich sea captains of Palos, 
three small ships were 
secured. But the troubles 
of Columbus were not yet 
over. His next difficulty 
was in getting sailors to 
ship of columbus. manage his ships. No one 

had ever before dared to sail straight out toward the mid- 
dle of the Atlantic, and the boldest sailors were afraid 
to attempt it. After much delay a few sailors were 
induced by promises of reward to join the expedition. 
To fill out the necessary number, some men had to be ar- 
rested and forced into service by the king's order. 

The Voyage. — A crowd of weeping wives, mothers, 
sisters, and friends came down to the shore to say good- 
bye to the daring sailors, whom they feared they would 




THE FINDING OF AMERICA 



II 



never see again. Leaving the harbor of Palos, Spain, 
Columbus with his three ships sailed southwest, and 
touched at the Canary Islands (see map). These is- 
lands then, as now, belonged to Spain, and were the 
farthest lands to the west then known. On leaving the 
Canaries, Columbus steered straight toward the setting 
sun. As the men saw the shores fade from view a 
feeling of dread came over them at the thought of the 
unknown dangers ahead. Many a sailor would have 
given everything he possessed to be safe back in the 
harbor at Palos. Columbus had no fears. Firm in his 
belief in the roundness of the earth, he felt certain of 
success. His cheerfulness and hopefulness calmed the 
fears of his men. 

Land Discovered — As weeks passed by and no land 
was seen, the fears of the sailors returned. They talked 
of refusing to obey Columbus, and of taking charge of 




MAP OF COLUMBUS S ROUTE ON HIS GREAT VOYAGE. 



the ships themselyes and sailing back home. Two 
months passed by, and at last signs of land began to ap- 
pear. Flocks of land birds flew over the ships, the breeze 
had an odor of flowers, a branch with berries on it floated 
by. The sailors now remained awake all night, each 



12 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

eager to get the reward promised to the one who should 
be the first to see land. A little before daylight one 
morning the firing of a gun on one of the ships an- 
nounced the joyful tidings that land had been seen. At 
once the ships stopped, and awaited/the dawn. 

The Landing — The morning sunlight revealed a beau- 
tiful island. Beyond its white sandy beach Columbus 
saw luxuriant grass, and tall palm trees surrounding a 




COLUMBUS CLAIMING THE LAND FOR FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 



sparkling lake. Strange, red-skinned people, their 
naked bodies painted in bright colors, came crowding to 
the shore, jabbering excitedly to each other, as they 
pointed to the pale-faced strangers and their white- 
winged ships. Dressed in his finest clothes, Columbus 



THE FINDING OF AMERICA' 1 3 

landed, and as he stepped upon the shore he kneeled down 
and returned thanks to God. Rising from his knees, he 
raised the flag of Spain, thus claiming the land for King 
Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. This was Friday,, 
October 12, 1492. 

Was It India? — Columbus was sure the new land was 
one of the islands which he had read lay just east of the 
coast of India. He was confident that the mainland of 
India was close at hand. His heart thrilled with joy 
and pride as he thought that now his years of persevering 
effort, weary waiting, and bitter disappointment were 
at last crowned with glorious success. No more would 
people laugh at him and say he was crazy. His belief 
in the roundness of the earth had been proven, for he 
had done what many of the wisest men of his time had 
declared impossible — by sailing west he had discovered 
(as he believed) a water route to India. Filled with 
thankfulness to God, he named the island San Salvador, 
which in our language means Holy Saviour. We know 
now that this island, San Salvador, is one of the Ba- 
hama group lying southeast of Florida, and that to reach 
India, had there been no land in his way, Columbus 
would have had to sail more than twice as far as he 
had already gone. Before returning home Columbus 
discovered a number of other islands, among them Cuba 
and Hayti. These large islands he supposed to be the 
mainland of India, and accordingly the Spaniards called 
the group the West Indies, a name they have ever since 
borne. For the same reason the people who inhabited 
them were called Indians. 

Home Again — One of the three ships in which Colum- 



14 



THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 



bus sailed was wrecked off the coast of Hayti, but for- 
tunately all on board were saved. After a stormy voy- 
age the two remaining ships reached the harbor of Palos, 
whence they had set out just seven months and twelve 
days before. The new r s that Columbus had returned 
quickly spread from house to house, and we may be 
sure there was great rejoicing in the little town of Palos. 
An eager, joyous crowd now hurried to the shore to 
preet their friends whom they had given up for lost. 




THE FOUR VOYAGES OF COLUMBUS 

Tears of joy were shed, and there were looks of wonder 
at the strange :*nen and birds and plants that Columbus 
brought back from the Western world. Instead of a 
poor wanderer, Columbus was now the "Great Ad- 
miral/' and people who once laughed at him and his 
plans were anxious to show him honor. Preparations 
were made at once to send out a large expedition to 
establish the power of Spain in her new possessions. 
Other Voyages. Columbus Arrested. — Columbus found 
no trouble in getting sailors to accompany him on his 
second voyage to the West. This time he discovered 
the island of Jamaica and numerous smaller islands. He 



THE FINDING OF AMERICA 



15 



founded a city in Hayti, which he named Isabella, after 
the queen. Two other voyages were made by him, dur- 
ing which he discovered the northern coast of South 
America (1498). The Spaniards who accompanied 
Columbus, however, were jealous 
of him because he was a native 
of a different country from them- 
selves. No doubt he made some 
mistakes in his government. 
Some disliked him for this rea- 
son, others hated him because he 
forced them to obey his orders. 
So his enemies began to send 
word to the king that Columbus 
was guilty of unjust and wicked 
acts. He returned to Spain and 
proved his innocence of the 
charges against him. But the 
stories were repeated, and finally 
the great admiral was arrested and sent back in chains. 
As soon as Queen Isabella saw him, however, she was so 
moved w^ith pity that she burst into tears, and ordered 
him to be released. 

Troubles in His Old Age — On his return from his 
fourth voyage Columbus found his good friend, Queen 
Isabella, dying. He himself was now a feeble old man 
of nearly seventy. King Ferdinand treated him with 
coldness. The people who had crowded around him to 
shout his praises on his return from his first voyage now 
hardly spoke to him as he passed. Homeless and friend- 
less, he wrote to his son, "Oftentimes I have not the 




QUEEN ISABELLA. 



l6 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

money to pay for a meal or a bed." A few months later 
death relieved him of his troubles. He died believing 
that he had discovered the eastern shore6 of Asia. 

Burying Places of Columbus — The body of Columbus 
was first buried in Spain. Afterward, according to a 
wish he expressed before his death, his remains were 
removed to Hayti. Many years later, when Hayti was 
given to France, Spanish officers took what they sup- 
posed were the bones of Columbus to Cuba, and buried 
them at Havana. (By mistake, it may have been the 
bones of Columbus's son, Diego, that were removed.) 
After our Spanish War, when Spain had to give up 
Cuba, the supposed remains of Columbus were again re- 
moved. This time they were taken back to Spain and 
placed in the cathedral of Seville. 

Success Through Failure — We know that he had failed 
in the great purpose of his life, yet Columbus did what 

was of far more 
benefit to mankind 
than the most com- 
plete success of his 
plan would have 
been. H i s finding 
of the great conti- 
nent on which we 
live was the most 




LAND DISCOVERED BY COLUMBUS 



important geographical discovery in all history. Four 
hundred years have pa^ed since his great deed was 
done, yet to-day the name of Columbus is knows and 
honored through the world. 



Tell about Marco Polo and his travels. What was the effect of the 
accounts he gave of India? What plan did Columbus form? What 



THE FINDING OF AMERICA iy 

did people think of his plan? Tell about the two travelers who 
stopped at the convent gate. How did the prior of the convent help 
Columbus? How were ships and sailors obtained? Tell of the be- 
ginning of the voyage and the first stop ; the direction Columbus then 
took. What did the frightened sailors think of doing? Tell of the 
discovery of land. Describe the land and the people Columbus saw 
from his ship. Tell about his landing. What did Columbus believe 
the new land to be? What do we now know it to be? What other 
land did Columbus discover on this voyage? Explain the names 
"San Salvador/' "West Indies," and "Indians." Tell about the home- 
ward voyage of Columbus. How was he received by the people of 
Spain? By the king and queen? How many other voyages did he 
make? What lands did he discover? Why was he disliked? What 
harsh treatment did he suffer? How did Queen Isabella show her 
'friendship? Tell about the troubles of his old age; his burying 
places. What purpose did he fail to accomplish? What can you 
say of the importance of what he did accomplish ? 

THE PEOBLE WHOM COLUMBUS FOUND 

America Not a New Land — We must not forget that 
there were people living in America long before Colum- 
bus touched these shores. The land was called "the new 
world" only because it was new to European eyes. To 
the people whom Columbus found here, the country was 
an old land— the home of their fathers and grandfathers 
through many generations past. 

The First Americans — Thinking the newly discovered 
land to be India, Columbus called these first Americans 
Indians. In appearance they were different from any 
other people whom the white explorers had ever seen. 
Their skin was of a red or copper color, they had high 
cheek bones and long, straight hair. The men had no 
beard. The clothing of the Indians was scanty, and was 
made from the tanned skins of wild animals. Their feet 
were protected by soft shoes called moccasins. Their 



i8 



THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 



bodies were straight, their movements active and grace- 
ful. 

Their Homes. — Their houses were crude log buildings, 
or tents (called wigwams) made of skins or bark 

stretched over poles. They owned 
no land separately. Certain regions 
were claimed as the hunting 
grounds of the tribe. A family 
would cultivate a piece of land one 
year and might the next year 
abandon it for a more favorable 
location ; the land w^as so abundant 
that ownership was not necessary. 
They had no churches, schools or 
shops, no horses or cattle. They 
supported themselves by hunting, 
fishing, and by a rude form of 
gardening or farming. Corn and 
potatoes, two of the most valuable 
food crops of the world to-day, 
w r ere first cultivated by the Indians. 
Beans, peas, pumpkins and melons 
were also developed by them from 
wild plants, and tobacco is an Indian plant. The culti- 
vation of the soil and most of the hard work of the 
home was done by the women. 

Indian Education. — Although the Indians had no 
schools their children learned many things not found 
in books. The girls learned to crush grains of corn by 
pounding or rubbing them with stones; then to make 
the meal into bread which was baked as "hoe-cakes" 




NORTH AMERICAN 
INDIAN 



THE FINDING OF AMERICA 19 

in the ashes or upon hot rocks; they learned to dress 
and cook the fish, and the buffalo, deer, birds and other 
game brought home by men and boys. The boys learned 
how to make canoes — light boats made of bar or hol- 
lowed logs — and paddle them skillfully through the 
dangerous rapids. They learned how to make bows and 
arrows and to shoot the arrows with unerring aim. 
They learned some lessons that every boy and girl who 
reads this book should learn; one was to bear pain 
without a murmur; another was to make good use of 
their eyes and ears in observing the trees, plants, birds, 
animals and all other objects of nature around them. 
The poet Longfellow, writing of the Indian boy, Hia- 
watha, tells us: 

Then the little Hiawatha 
Learned of every bird its language, 
Learned their names and all their secrets, 
How they built their nests in summer, 
Where they hid themselves in winter. 
Of all the beasts he learned their language, 
Learned their names and all their secrets, 
How the beavers built their lodges, 
Where the squirrels hid their acorns, 
How the reindeer ran so swiftly, 
Why the rabbit was so timid, 
Talked with them whene'er he met them, 
Called them "Hiawatha's brothers." 

Indian Wars — The Indians greeted the first Euro- 
pean explorers with kindness. They thought the pale- 
faced strangers were messengers from the gods. But 
the white settlers were not always careful of the Indians' 
rights. Each explorer, following the example of Co- 
lumbus, proceeded to claim for his king the region which 



20 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

he had discovered, forgetting that the land had been the 
home of the Indians for hundreds of years. Soon 
the Indians came to view the whites with suspicion and 
the whites learned to look upon the Indians with hatred. 
On both sides cruel deeds were done. In many parts 
of the country there were long and bloody wars. The 
Indians fought with bows and arrows, tomahawks 
(stone hatchets) and scalping knives. In later years 
they used guns which they bought from white traders. 
These Indian w.ars cost many precious lives, and re- 
tarded the growth of the white settlements. 

Some Famous Indians — Among the Indians of early 
American history were several whose names have be- 
come famous. Some of these were chiefs noted for 
their wise control of their tribes in time of peace or their 
skillful leadership in time of war. Other Indians are 
remembered for the great help they gave to the white 
settlers. Some of the famous Indians you will read 
about in this book are Powhatan and Pocahontas in 
Virginia, Tomochichi in Georgia, Massasoit Samoset 
and Squonto in Massachusetts, and Sequoyah in Ten- 
nessee and Oklahoma. You may turn to the pages that 
tell about these Indians and read the paragraphs re- 
ferring to them. 

The Indians To-day. — The first white settlers who 
came to this country occupied the land along the At- 
lantic coast. They cut down trees, built fences, planted 
crops, made homes. As the Europeans came in in- 
creasing numbers, the Indians were gradually driven 
westward before the advancing line of white settlements. 
While the number of whites increased the number of 



THE FINDING OF AMERICA 21 

red men grew smaller. Wars among themselves, as 
well as with the settlers, cut them down by hundreds. 
Diseases like smallpox were often more fatal than wars. 
There are now within the limits of the United States 
about two hundred and fifty thousand Indians — only 
half as many, it is thought, as were here in the days 
of Columbus. Most Indians are found scattered 
through states west of the Mississippi River. For 
years many tribes were supported by the United States 
Government ; but that is no longer the case ; indeed, many 
hundreds of them have become educated, patriotic, self- 
supporting citizens of our common country. In almost 
every department of our national government, from the 
United States Senate down, Indian brains are perform- 
ing their share of national duties. 

SOME RESULTS OF COLUMBUS'S DISCOVERIES 

The Mainland First Discovered — The news of the dis- 
coveries of Columbus soon spread from Spain to other 
countries. Now that the brave Columbus had shown 
the way across the terrible ocean many other sailors 
were eager to sail toward the west in the hope of either 
finding the gold fields of India or of discovering some 
new land. While Columbus was preparing for his third 
voyage, John Cabot — an Italian sailor living in England 
— was studying maps and tracing on them the route Co- 
lumbus was reported to have taken. He came to the 
conclusion that he could find a shorter route to India 
than Columbus had found. Accordingly he obtained 
permission from King Henry VII, of England, to 
make the attempt. Some English merchants furnished 



22 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

him with one small ship and eighteen men, in return for 
which he agreed to share with them the gold and spices 
he expected to find. Taking a more northerly course 
than Columbus had taken, he reached the icy and bar- 
ren shores of what is now called Labrador (1497). 
This was a year before Columbus discovered the main- 
land of South America, so to Cabot belongs the honor 
of being the first to reach the continent. The next year, 
John Cabot's son, Sebastian, set sail with a larger expe- 
dition, and explored the coast of the continent from 
Labrador to the great bay since named Chesapeake. 
The Cabots claimed for England the land they had dis- 
covered. Like Columbus, they thought they had 
reached Asia. As they did not find the riches of In- 
dia, the English for a long time took no further interest 
in western voyages. 

The Coming" of the French. — When the Cabots re- 
turned from their voyages they reported that the waters 
off the northern shores they had visited fairly swarmed 
with fish, so that at times their ships were delayed by 
them. To the hardy fishermen of northern France good 
fishing grounds were more attractive than gold mines or 
spice fields. So they at once steered their little fishing 
boats toward the wonderful fish-swarming waters. In 
a few years the banks of Newfoundland were frequented 
by French fishing vessels, and a profitable fur trade be- 
tween the fishermen and the Indians sprang up. In 
this way the claim of the French to this part of America 
began. 

The Naming of the Continent.— :Columbus called the 
islands which he first discovered the West Indies, and for 



THE FINDING OF AMERICA 23 

a long time the continent was known as Asia or India. 
When the people of Europe at last found out that the new 
land was a separate continent, and not a part of Asia, a 
new name had to be chosen for it. Americus Vespucius 
was an Italian sailor who accompanied Columbus on 
some of his voyages, and was afterward employed by 
the king of Portugal. Americus, while sailing in a Por- 
tuguese ship, explored the coast of what is now Brazil 
far enough southward to prove that this land was not 
a part of Asia. When he returned to Europe he pub- 
lished an account of the country he had visited, declar- 
ing it to be a new continent. This was the first printed 
description of the newly discovered lands. It was widely 
read and made Americus famous. A German profes- 
sor, after reading Americus's book, wrote a geography, 
in which he suggested that the new continent discovered 
by Americus be called America in his honor. Soon 
afterward, on the rude maps of that time, the name, 
America, appeared on what we now call South America, 
North America being still considered a part of Asia. 
When finally the northern continent was found to be 
joined to its southern neighbor, and equally as separate 
from Asia, the name America was given to both. 

The "Land of Flowers' ' Discovered The Indians 

who lived on the West India Islands believed that some- 
where in the lands w r est of them was a spring that pos- 
sessed the magic power of making forever young any 
one who should bathe in its waters. Among the Span- 
ish settlers who heard and believed this story was a 
rich old man named Ponce de Leon, who had once been 
governor of Porto Rico, and who still made his home on 



24 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

that island. De Leon was unhappy because he was 
growing old and feeble, and he often longed for the 
strength of his youthful days. At his own expense he 
fitted out two ships to go in search of the wonderful 




DE LEON ON THE FLORIDA COAST, 



fountain the Indians talked about. After visiting 
several small islands, his ships one day arrived at the 
coast of the most beautiful land that De Leon had 
ever seen (15 13). To the wondering Spaniards it 
looked like a great flower garden, with its blossoming 



THE FINDING OF AMERICA 25 

trees and flowering plants, over which luxuriant vines 
gracefully twined themselves, while the air was filled 
with the music of song birds and the fragrance of 
flowers. A land of perpetual youth, indeed, it seemed 
to be! De Leon and his men disembarked, and began 
their search for the fabled fountain. Many lovely 
springs they found, into whose waters the old man 
eagerly plunged; but every bath left him still wrinkled 
and gray as before. In despair he at last returned to 
his ships and sailed away. De Leon named this beau- 
tiful land Florida, partly because he had discovered it 
on Easter Sunday — which is "Pascua Florida'' in Span- 
ish — and partly because it was indeed a land of flowers. 
The king of Spain appointed him governor of Florida, 
and he returned with a number of ships to take posses- 
sion of the country. The Indians attacked his men, and 
De Leon was wounded by a poisoned arrow. Thus the 
old man received his death wound in the beautiful land 
of flowers where he had hoped to find immortal youth. 
His discovery of Florida, however, gave his country- 
men, the Spaniards, a claim to this part of the mainland 
of North America. 

De Soto's Search for Gold — About twenty years after 
the death of Ponce de Leon another company of Span- 
iards landed on the coast of Florida. Their leader was 
Ferdinand de Soto. His purpose was to search for and 
seize the great stores of gold which he believed were to 
be found in some great Indian city in the west. With 
his army of six hundred men De Soto left his 6hips and 
plunged into the forests toward the northwest. His fol- 
lowers treated the Indians most cruelly, binding their 



26 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

necks with iron collars and their hands with chains. For 
months the Spaniards wandered onward, passing many 
Indian villages. But the rich city of which De Soto 
dreamed was as hard to find as De Leon's fountain of 
youth. 

The Great River. Death of De Soto — At last (1541) 
they came to a mighty river, the largest stream their 
eyes had ever beheld. Mississippi, or Great River, the 




DE SOTO REACHES THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. 

Indians called it. "Great River/' indeed, it seemed to 
the Spaniards, for a mile of rushing water separated 
them from the opposite bank. They made some rafts 
and crossed the river. But now De Soto was taken 
with fever and died. His followers knew that the In- 
dians feared their fierce leader, and they determined not 
to let his death be known. So they carried his body 
by night in a boat to the middle of the river and buried 



THE FINDING OF AMERICA 27 

it in the water. The death of De Soto completely dis= 
couraged his men. They beat the iron chains of their 
captives into nails and made some rafts. Then they 
floated down the Mississippi, and at last reached a Span- 
ish settlement on the Gulf of Mexico. Half of their 
brave company iiad perished in their five years' wander- 
ings. 

The First Voyage Around the World When Euro- 
pean sailors realized that the western land was not a 
part of Asia, they set to work to seek a passage for 
their ships through the midst of it or around it, hop- 
ing to carry out the plan of Columbus to find a western 
water route to India. Ferdinand Magellan, a native of 
Portugal, started from Spain, and crossing the Atlantic, 
passed around the southern extremity of South America. 
He called the great ocean upon which he then found 
himself the Pacific (peaceful), because its waters seemed 
so calm after the stormy Atlantic. He crossed this 
great ocean and reached the Philippine Islands. Land- 
ing here, Magellan was killed in a battle with the natives. 
His men continued the voyage, sailed through the In- 
dian Ocean, around the southern end of Africa, and 
northward to Spain. It took just three years and 
twenty-eight days to make this first voyage around the 
world. The shape of the earth was now settled beyond 
a doubt (1522). 

Three Nations of Europe Claim North America — It 
was Columbus's successful voyage across the Atlantic 
that led to the discoveries of John Cabot and of others 
about whom we have been studying. If Columbus had 
lived fourteen years longer than he did, he would have 



28 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

learned from the reports of Americus Vespucius that 
South America is not a part of Asia, and he would have 
heard with delight that Magellan's sailors had proved 
the truth of his belief in the roundness of the earth. 
By this time, too, he would have seen that three Euro- 
pean nations had begun to claim the northern continent. 
Spain claimed the southern part, including the West In- 
dia Islands and Florida; France, the region around the 
Gulf of St. Lawrence; England, the part of the con- 
tinent north of Florida, including France's claim. 

Tell about John Cabot and his plan. His voyage and discovery. 
Of the voyage of Sebastian Cabot. For what nation did the Cabots 
claim the land? How did the English regard it? Tell about the 
coming of the first Frenchman to America. Tell of Americus Ves- 
pucius and his voyages. How was his name given to the continent? 
Tell the story of Ponce de Leon. Tell of De Soto's wanderings and 
death. What became of his men ? Tell about the first voyage around 
the world. What two geographical questions that had puzzled Co- 
lumbus were settled soon after his death? What European nations 
began to claim North America? What parts of the continent did 
i hey claim? 



CHAPTER II 



Making Homes in the New Land 
Walter Raleigh 

The Search for Gold — The first Europeans who came 
to America expected to find the gold of India, but Amer- 
ica was found to be a great continent blocking the way 
to India. Everybody then 
believed that this new land 
was full of gold, if he only 
knew where to look for it. 
So in a search for gold ad- 
venturers from Europe wan- 
dered through our pathless 
forests and over our great 
plains, climbed mountains and 
waded rivers. Some perished 
of hunger or died of fever, yet 
the survivors continued the 
mad, uncertain search. It 
seems strange to us that it took the men of that time so 
long to see that the New World offered surer ways of 
earning a living, and even of getting rich, than by hunt- 
ing for gold. There were the great trees of the forests, 
of which houses could be built; there was the rich soil, 
ready to reward the plowman's toil' with bountiful crops; 
there were the swift-running streams, ready to turn the 

29 




WALTER RALEIGH. 



30 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 



wheels of machinery for mills and factories. For a 
long time, however, the idea that America was a great 
gold field completely filled people's minds. No rich man 
was willing to advance the money needed to transport 
farmers and mechanics to this country, and to furnish 
them with tools for the slow work of raising crops and 
building homes. How the first English homes came to 







RALEIGH THROWING HIS CLOAK BEFORE THE QUEEN. 

be made in this country, and something of the troubles 
that befell them, our story will now tell. 

An Act of Politeness, and What Came of It. — Queen 
Elizabeth of England was a granddaughter of the King 
Henry who had given permission to John Cabot to sail 
to the western lands. Queen Elizabeth came to the 
throne while a young woman, and during her long reign 
proved to be one of the wisest rulers England ever had. 



MAKING HOMES IN THE NEW LAND 3 1 

One day when the queen and several fine ladies of her 
court were out for a walk they came to a muddy place 
in the path. It happened that at this moment a young 
man wearing a handsome red velvet cloak was passing. 
He saw the queen looking anxiously around, uncer- 
tain where to step. Springing forward, he threw his 
beautiful cloak on the ground before her, thus enabling 
her majesty to continue her walk without danger of soil- 
ing her royal shoes. This act of politeness so pleased 
the queen that she invited Walter Raleigh ( for this was 
the young man's name) to her court, and became his firm 
friend. 

Raleigh's Plan, and How the Queen Helped Him — 
Walter Raleigh was not only a polite and handsome 
courtier, but he was one of the most learned and thought- 
ful men of his time. Nearly a hundred years had passed 
since the Cabots had discovered the mainland of North 
America and claimed it for England ; yet in all this time 
Englishmen had thought little about the new land, and 
had made no effort to occupy it. Raleigh believed that 
his countrymen should take possession of the region 
which they claimed. Accordingly he asked permission 
of the queen to establish a settlement, or colony, upon 
any land in America not already occupied by any Chris- 
tian nation. Queen Elizabeth readily favored the plan 
of her gallant friend, and gave him a charter, or written 
permit, to govern the colony he should establish. 

Searching for a Place for a Colony — At his own ex- 
pense Raleigh fitted out two ships with which to visit 
America and find a suitable place for a colony. He 
wished to accompany -the expedition himself, but the 



32 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 



queen was unwilling for her friend to risk his life in 
dangerous sea fights, so he remained at home. His 
ships reached what is now the eastern coast of North 
Carolina. The men were delighted with the new land. 
They found grapes in abundance, "sweet-smelling timber 
trees/' beautiful song birds, and "gentle, loving, and 
faithful" natives. They spent some time trading with 
the Indians, but did not try to make a settlement. They 
returned to England carrying with them a cargo of furs 
and wood (1584). 

Raleigh's First Settlement.— Queen Elizabeth was 
much pleased with the accounts given by Raleigh's 

sailors of the land 
they had visited, 
which they de- 
clared to be the 
"most plentiful, 
sweet, fruitful, and 
w T holesome of all 
the world." The 
country was called 
Virginia, in honor 
of Elizabeth, the 
virgin, or unmarried, queen. With the aid of the queen 
Raleigh fitted out a larger expedition consisting this time 
of seven ships and over one hundred colonists. They 
landed on an island now known as Roanoke Island, not 
far from the one visited by Raleigh's ships the year be- 
fore, and made a settlement there (1585), Instead of 
setting to work to supply themselves with food by culti- 
vating the soil, the colonists wandered over the country 




WHERE RALEIGH S SETTLEMENT WAS MADE. 



MAKING HOMES IN THE NEW LAND 33 

searching for pearls and gold, which they never found. 
They treated the Indians harshly, and the red men, who 
at first had been friendly^ refused to supply them with 
food, and even threatened to attack the settlement. 
Working but little, the colonists devoted their idle mo- 
ments to thinking and talking over their troubles. Of 
course they grew homesick. A fleet of ships stopped 
there on its way to England, and the colonists begged so 
earnestly to be taken aboard that the sailors could not re- 
fuse, and all of them were taken home. 

Raleigh's Last Attempt — But Raleigh was not dis- 
couraged. The year after the return of his colonists 
he sent out another company under Governor White. 
They occupied the deserted houses on Roanoke Island. 
In one of these log cabins was born a little baby girl, 
the first child born of English parents in America. She 
was the granddaughter of Governor White, and was 
named Virginia Dare. A short time after the baby was 
born her grandfather, the governor, had to go back to 
England for needed supplies. He found the people of 
England in the midst of a war with Spain, and he was 
unable to return to his colony for three years. When 
he returned to Roanoke he could find no trace of his little 
granddaughter nor her parents, nor any of the other 
colonists. What became of them? Had they all been 
killed by the Indians ; or had they been taken prisoners 
by the savages and carried away to live among them; 
or had they wandered away from the settlement and 
been lost and starved to death in the dense woods; or 
had they been drowned while attempting, in rude boats 
of their own making, to return to England? To this 




RALEIGH'S MEN ERECTING THE STANDARD OF QUEEN ELIZA- 
BETH ON THE COAST OF VIRGINIA. 



MAKING HOMES IN THE NEW LAND 



35 



day no one knows what became of little Virginia Dare 
and her parents, and probably no one will ever know. 
Raleigh would have been glad to send out another com- 
pany of colonists, but he had spent so much money in 
hiring ships and buying supplies for his settlers that he 
could not afford to make another attempt. 

Some Things Raleigh's Colonists Took Back to Eng- 
land. — The settlers on Roanoke Island had noticed the 
Indians rolling up the broad 
leaves of a weed and smok- 
ing them, and they were 
told by the red men that it 
would keep them from get- 
ting hungry and tired. The 
white men tried it and were 
so well pleased that they 
brought some of the leaves 
home and gave them to Ra- 
leigh. Raleigh distributed 
them among his friends. 
The queen smoked some 
of them, and soon tobacco 
smoking became popular 
in England. They also 
brought home a root called by the Indians "botah," which 
was good to eat when boiled or baked. Raleigh had some 
of these "botah roots" planted on his land in Ireland. 
His neighbors liked them so well that before long nearly 
every farm in Ireland raised a crop, and the root be- 
came known to the people of Europe as the Irish potato. 

Last Days of Raleigh. — At this time Spanish ships 




TOBACCO PLANT. 



36 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY! 

brought to Spain each year many cargoes of gold from 
Mexico and South America. Raleigh caught the "gold 
fever/' and fitted out some ships that visited the north- 
ern coast of South America. Raleigh himself led the 
expedition, but he found no gold. Now troubles came 
thick upon him. His good friend, Queen Elizabeth, 
died ; the new king, James I, did not like Raleigh, because 
he thought Raleigh had tried to prevent him from be- 
coming king. So he took away Sir Walter's offices, and 
finally put him in prison. He was tried for treason, 
or plotting against the king, and was sentenced to death. 
For twelve years, however, he was kept in prison, and 
he occupied his time during those dreary years writing 
a great book called The History of the World. The 
king released him from prison that he might make an- 
other voyage to South America in search of gold. 
Raleigh knew that if he should bring back a rich trea- 
sure for the king he would no doubt be freed from the 
unjust sentence of death that had been passed upon him, 
and that if he failed he would probably have to die. But 
the Spaniards seemed to be the only ones who were able 
to find gold. Raleigh's only son, young Walter, who 
accompanied him, was killed in a battle with the Span- 
iards in South America. Brokenhearted, the old man 
sailed back to England, where he was at once thrown 
into prison again, and soon afterward put to death. 

What We Owe to Raleigh — Raleigh's attempts to find 
gold in South America were miserable failures, and 
brought no good to him or to his countrymen. His at- 
tempts to establish a colony in his land of Virginia, 
though disappointments to him, were the beginning of 



MAKING HOMES IN THE NEW LAND 37 

the English occupation of North America. He was the 
first Englishman who tried to induce his people to make 
homes in the New World, where they should be allowed 
just laws and the same rights they had enjoyed at home. 
While he failed to carry out his gr- : plan himself, yet 
he set the people to thinking ? . talking about it, so 
that before he died his idea was carried out by other 
Englishmen, and the fair land of Virginia was occupied 
by English settlers. 

So Walter Raleigh's efforts to establish a colony in 
Virginia, like Columbus's efforts to find a western route 
to Asia, resulted in great good to those who lived after 
him. 

In later years the people of North Carolina named 
the capital city of their State, Raleigh, in honor of the 
man who had started the idea of English colonies in 
America. 

Tell about the search for gold in America. How did this delay the 
settlement of the country? Who was Queen Elizabeth? Tell about 
Walter Raleigh's act of politeness. Who first claimed North America 
for England? What was Raleigh's plan? What did Queen Elizabeth 
think of it ? For what purpose did Raleigh's ships first sail to Amer- 
ica ? Tell about the land visited. What name was given to it ? Tell 
of Raleigh's second expedition. What caused the failure of this 
settlement? Tell about Raleigh's last attempt to make a settlement. 
(What do you suppose became of the settlers?) How were tobacco 
and the potato introduced into England? What troubles befell Ra- 
leigh in his old age? (What two queens helped in the discovery and 
exploration of America? Compare the last days of Columbus and 
Raleigh.) What good resulted from Raleigh's failures? What place 
is named for him? 



CHAPTER III 

Virginia and Her Neighbors 

John Smith — Virginia 

john smith helps to found a colony 

A Successor to Raleigh Appears — Walter Raleigh 
sent five expeditions to look for his lost colony. But 

they searched the Virginia 
woods in vain for traces of little 
Virginia Dare and her people. 



Raleigh himself was now in 
prison, and it looked as if his 
hopeful saying that he "would 
yet live to see Virginia an Eng- 
lish nation" would never come 
true. About this time, how- 
ever, there appeared in Eng- 
land, after a long absence on 
the continent of Europe, a 
young soldier who was destined 
a few years later to carry out Raleigh's plan. 

His Life of Adventure — This young man, twenty-five 
years old, bore the name of John Smith. His mother 
died when he was an infant. As soon as he was old 
enough to leave home little John was sent to a boarding 
school. But he was too restless and mischievous to be 

38 




CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH. 



VIRGINIA AND HER NEIGHBORS . 39 

a good pupil. He was planning to run away and be- 
come a sailor when the death of his father put an end to 
his school days. John was then set to w r ork as a clerk 
in a store. But the life of a clerk was as distasteful 
to his restless spirit as the restraints of school had been. 
He left his native land, and became a soldier in wars 
against the Turks. We are told that once, while the 
opposing armies looked on, he overcame three Turks in 
single combat, and, like David, cut off their heads and 
carried them to his tent. He was taken prisoner and 
made to work as a slave with a great iron ring riveted 
about his neck; but he killed his cruel master and es- 
caped. He returned to England at a time when people 
were still talking about Raleigh's lost colony. 

America Attracts Him — At the taverns, or hotels, 
which Captain Smith visited he met many other travel- 
ers, some of whom had just returned from exploring the 
Atlantic Coast of North America, and had much to tell 
of the wonders of the New World. One of these Amer- 
ican voyagers was a man named Gosnold, an experi- 
enced sea captain who had visited the northern shores 
of Virginia. Gosnold told Smith so much of the beauty 
and fertility of the western land that Smith was eager to 
visit it. So the two (Gosnold and Smith) decided to 
collect the vessels, men, and equipment necessary to cross 
the ocean, and establish a settlement. Some rich mer- 
chants of the cities of London and Plymouth were per- 
suaded to form trading companies. Two were formed; 
one was called the London Company, the other the Ply- 
mouth Company, and these companies agreed to furnish 
the money for the undertaking in return for a share in 



40 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 



the profits that were expected from the trade of the pro- 
posed settlement. 

He Sails to Virginia — One beautiful spring morning, 
not long after these events, three ships came in sight of 
the American coast, and entered the waters of a great 
bay that opens into the Atlantic, some distance north of 
the place where Raleigh's men had made their unlucky 
settlement twenty years before. These ships, as you may 
have guessed, bore Captain John Smith and -Captain 
Gosnold. With them were a hundred men sent out by 

the London Company to establish a 
settlement in Raleigh's land of Vir- 
ginia. They coasted along 
the shores of this bay until 
they came to the mouth of a 
large river. (Find on map 
the name of this bay). 
Sailing up the stream, they 
finally anchored their ships 
close to a little peninsula on 
the north bank of the river. Here they landed, unloaded 
their stores of provisions, tools, and other supplies, and 
set to work. Some put up tents ; others cut down trees 
with which to build a fort to protect them from the In- 
dians. They named this settlement Jamestown, in honor 
of King James I, at that time king of England. The 
river they called King's River, or James River. This 
was in the year 1607. 

The Captain in Trouble — When the company landed, 
among their number was one man held as prisoner by his 
companions. Strange to say, this prisoner was none 




SETTLEMENTS IN VIRGINIA, 



VIRGINIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 41 

other than Captain John Smith, despite the fact that the 
London Company had appointed him one of the five men 
who were to govern the colony. Soon after the voyage 
began he had been arrested on the charge of planning to 
make himself king of Virginia. No doubt the other 
leaders were jealous of him, and no doubt, too, Smith had 
increased their jealousy by talking too much and too 
boastfully of his past adventures. On reaching Virginia, 
his enemies wanted to get rid of him by sending him back 
to England. Smith demanded a trial, and a jury of 
twelve of his fellow-colonists declared him innocent and 
set him free. Moreover, they sentenced his principal ac- 
cusers to pay the worthy captain a fine of $1,000 for their 
unjust treatment of him. 

Working and Praying — A Good Beginning The log 

fort was soon completed, and then the men set to work on 
their own cabins, many of them sleeping meanwhile in 
the open air under the trees in the pleasant May weather. 
They next began to clear the land, and prepare the soil 
for a corn crop. Each morning and evening they as- 
sembled in a rude tent which served as a church, and here, 
with a board nailed between two trees as his pulpit, the 
minister read the service of the Episcopal Church. 
Twice every Sunday they had preaching. In a short 
time a church building of logs took the place of the 
tent. 

Hot Weather Brings Sickness. — But troubles soon came 
thick and fast. The river bank where the settlement 
was made was low and marshy, and during the hot sum- 
mer days the colonists were stricken with fever. Our 
fever medicine, quinine, which comes from the bark of a 



42 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

South American tree, was not at that time known. One- 
half of the colonists died. Smith himself became ill, but 
he continued to nurse the sick, help bury the dead, and 
cheer the living. At last autumn came w T ith its cool 
winds driving away the malaria and bringing back health 
and strength. 

Idleness Brings Hunger. — The supply of food brought 
by the colonists from England soon gave out. If all the 
men had worked diligently cultivating the soil they would 
still have had an abundance to eat. But a large number 
of the settlers were not used to work at home, and they 
could not be induced to work here. Farming was too 
difficult and too slow to suit these idlers. They wanted 
to get rich quickly without work. So they spent most of 
their time wandering about looking for gold. Captain 
Smith and some of the others set an example of hard 
work, but in spite of their labor there was not food 
enough for all, and soon the colony was threatened with 
starvation. 

What efforts did Raleigh make to find his lost colony? What 
young adventurer returned to England about this time? Tell about 
the boyhood of John Smith. What can you say of his life as a 
soldier? How did he become interested in America? What plan did 
Smith and Gosnold form ? How were they enabled to carry out their 
plan? Tell about the voyage of the colonists and the beginning of 
their settlement. What trouble did Captain Smith get into while on 
his voyage to America? How did he get the best of his enemies? 
Tell about the daily occupations of the first colonists. What mis- 
fortune happened to them the first summer? Why were there so 
many idlers? What was the result of the idleness? 



VIRGINIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 43 

JOHN SMITH SAVES VIRGINIA 

Captain Smith Makes a Corn Trade. — But John Smith 
was not willing to starve. He led a force of men into the 
Indian country to get a supply of corn from the savages. 
When the Indians refused to sell their grain Smith at- 
tacked them, and put them to flight. He captured their 
village, where he found plenty of corn. The Indians 
had all run away, but by the offer of beads and hatchets 
Smith induced six of them to return and load his boat. 
They were so surprised by the boldness of the captain 
and so pleased with the beads and hatchets that they all 
came from their hiding places. Then they brought not 
only corn, but venison and turkey and whatever other 
food they had, singing and dancing in sign of friendship. 

The Captain Explores the Country, and Gets Stuck in 
the Mud — With plenty of corn to supply their present 
needs, and with an abundance of wild fowl brought by 
the cold weather, the spirits of the colonists rose, and for 
a time they forgot their troubles. Captain Smith now 
began to explore the Chesapeake Bay and the rivers flow- 
ing into it. One day he and several companions sailed 
up the Chickahominy River, looking for the Pacific 
Ocean. They thought America was a narrow strip of 
land, and never dreamed that it was as wide as the ocean 
which separated them from England. Smith anchored 
his boat in the river, and with an Indian guide went into 
the woods to shoot some game for dinner. Suddenly he 
found himself surrounded by Indians whose dreadful 
yells were almost enough to make the stout-hearted cap- 
tain tremble. He determined to make a brave fight, 



44 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

however, and, holding his Indian guide as a shield be- 
tween him and his enemies, he began backing toward the 
river where he had left his companions. An arrow 
struck him in the leg. Smith then fired his gun into the 
crowd, and one of the Indians fell to the ground. The 
rest fled, but soon returned, fiercer than before. As the 
captain continued to step backward he suddenly slipped 
up to his waist into a boggy creek, dragging his Indian 
guide with him. As he could not get out of the mud, and 
as he was growing numb with cold, he made signs that 
he would surrender. 

Caught at Last. — The Indians pulled their captive out 
of the bog and warmed him by the fire. Then they 
would have killed him, but he was smart enough to pre- 
sent the chief with his pocket compass. The quivering 
needle protected by its glass case aroused the wonder of 
the Indians, as they tried in vain to touch it with their 
fingers. Smith increased their wonder by writing a let- 
ter to his friends at Jamestown, asking them to send him 
certain things which he named. This letter was carried 
to the settlement by an Indian messenger, who soon re- 
turned with the articles Smith had asked for. The poor 
Indians were now ' overcome with amazement. "The 
white chief can make the dry leaf speak/' they said. 
They were proud of their prisoner, and fed him so boun- 
tifully that the captain said afterward, "This plan of 
cramming me did sorely grieve me, for I surely thought 
they were about to fat me, in order to eat me." 

Saved by an Indian Girl — Smith was led in triumph 
from one Indian village to another, until at length he was 
brought before the king of all the Indians in this region, 



VIRGINIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 



45 



Powhatan by name. Powhatan, dressed in a robe made 
of raccoon skins, and with feathers in his hair, was seated 
on a raised platform in a long, arbor-like house. By his 
order Smith was condemned to die. Tying his hands, 




UEk? Pc-whatan. conumJtCSmiA, to heJTayrtV&fiij* 
Wayfcrrokahomas byjshis life Us thtmkfullntfs 
% fndhow lie Subialed jjy ofthilr kiny* rutdf~j,/iijh>y 



POCAHONTAS SAVING CAPTAIN SMITH. 

they laid the captain's head upon a great rock, and a 
powerful Indian, with uplifted club, stood ready to beat 
out his brains. At this moment Pocahontas, the chief's 
daughter, a maiden of twelve or thirteen years, ran for- 



46 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

ward and, bending over the prisoner, took his head in 
her arms. Gut of love for his daughter the old chief 
ordered the captain's life to be spared, and directed that 
he be put to work making bells, beads, and toys for little 
Pocahontas. 

The Captain Returns to Jamestown After several 

months of captivity King Powhatan told Captain Smith 
he could return to Jamestown, but he must send back two 
cannons and a grindstone. Smith readily agreed to this. 
So he joyfully set out through the woods, accompanied 
by several guides who were to bring back the presents. 
To show them the power of a cannon, Smith, on reach- 
ing the settlement, ordered a shot fired into the ice-laden 
trees. At the roar of the cannon and the sight of the 
falling ice and broken branches the frightened savages 
took to their heels. When they returned they declared 
the cannons and grindstone were too heavy to carry, and 
they accepted instead some beads and trinkets. 

Captain Smith Becomes Governor, and Makes Some 
New Laws. — The first rulers of Jamestown were unfit to 
govern the settlement. Two of them in succession were 
put out of office by the disgusted colonists. At last the 
settlers saw that their only hope was Captain Smith, so 
they made him take control of the colony. The captain 
ruled with a strong hand. He made a law that "he who 
will not work shall not eat/' and men then began to 
work who had never worked before. When the labor 
of swinging the ax blistered their tender hands they 
cursed so long and loud that "at every third blow the echo 
was drowned by an oath." Smith ordered their oaths 
to be counted, and at night, when work was over, the 



VIRGINIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 47 

swearers were placed in line, and each was made to hold 
up his arms, while one can of cold water was poured 
down his sleeve for every oath he uttered during the day. 
This "cold-water cure" worked like a charm. All day 
long the chips flew, with few wicked oaths to disturb the 
peaceful echoes. 

Captain Smith Leaves Virginia — Thus, time and 
again the sturdy arm and bold heart of Captain Smith 
saved the colony. But, although he kept them from 
starving, his enemies did not cease to hate him. Afraid 
to oppose him in Virginia, they carried to England false 
charges against him. A ship from England brought the 
report that he had been removed from office by the Lon- 
don Company. Smith refused to believe the story, and 
threw into prison those who resisted his authority. One 
day, however, when in a boat on the James River, a bag 
of gunpowder near him exploded, burning his flesh in 
a fearful manner. He jumped into the water and came 
near being drowned. Tortured by the pain of his wound 
and expecting every day to receive notice of his removal, 
his stout heart failed him at last. So he decided to leave 
his enemies to their triumph, and to go to England and 
have his wound treated. 

Last Days of the Bold Captain — Captain Smith sailed 
away from Virginia never to return. His wound healed, 
and he afterward visited America, exploring the coast of 
what is now New England, but not attempting to make 
a settlement. Later he again started to America, but 
his ship was captured by a French vessel, and the captain 
was taken prisoner to France. Escaping from his cap- 
tors, he returned to England, and spent his last days in 



48 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

London writing histories of the Jamestown settlement 
and of his own exploits. This "first American ruler and 
writer" lies buried in a London church, with his shield 
and three Turks' heads carved on his tombstone, and the 
inscription beneath: "Here lies one conquered, that 
hath conquered kings." 

Tell about Captain Smith's corn trade. Tell of Smith's exploration 
of the country and his capture by the Indians. How did he keep the 
Indians from killing him? Why was the captain uneasy when they 
fed him so well ? Who was Pocahontas, and how did* she save Cap- 
tain Smith's life? Tell about Smith's release and return to James- 
town. What kind of rulers did Jamestown have at first ? Tell about 
Captain Smith's rule. How did Smith's enemies try to injure him? 
Why did he return to England? What exploration did he afterward 
make? Tell of his last days. 

VIRGINIA AFTER CAPTAIN SMITH'S DEPARTURE. 

Virginia Abandoned — It was not long after Captain 
Smith sailed away from Virginia before even his worst 
enemies wished him back. The Indians no sooner heard 
that the unconquerable captain had gone than they began 
to attack and murder the settlers. The leaders of the 
colony quarreled among themselves as to who should 
rule. The food gave out again, and the Indians could 
not be induced to furnish a mouthful. Forced to live on 
roots and acorns and the flesh of horses, very many died 
of hunger. In this terrible "starving time" the colony 
was reduced from five hundred to sixty. In despair 
these weak, half-starved survivors decided to leave 
Jamestown forever. They buried their cannons, and all 
got aboard two sniaU ships and started down the river, 
leaving Jamestown" with its rows of log houses, its 



VIRGINIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 49 

church, storehouse, and fort all silent and deserted. 
The Jamestown settlement was about to end in failure, 
as had the colonies of Sir Walter Raleigh on the Carolina 
coast. 

Virginia Saved — But a great surprise was in store for 
the departing colonists. They were hardly out of sight 
of the abandoned settlement when they met three English 
ships coming up the river bearing Lord Delaware, the 
new " Governor and Captain-general" of Virginia, with 
several hundred colonists and a year's provisions. Joy- 
fully all returned to Jamestown. As soon as the new 
governor touched the shore he knelt down and thanked 
God that he had come in time to save Virginia. The 
buried cannons were dug up and mounted in the fort. 
Lord Delaware put everybody to work, and once more 
the Virginians seemed happy and prosperous. 

A Virginia Wedding — Pocahontas, the Indian girl 
who had saved Captain John Smith's life, continued to be 
a good friend of the whites. She often visited James- 
town, bringing baskets of corn and acting as peacemaker 
when war between her people and the settlers was threat- 
ened. One of the Englishmen, John Rolfe by name, fell 
in love with the sweet-tempered, graceful maiden. She 
agreed to marry him, and the consent of old father Pow- 
hatan and of the governor of the colony was obtained. 
The old chief, however, would not come to his daughter's 
marriage, but he sent an uncle and two brothers of Poca- 
hontas in his place. A crowd of colonists, doubtless, 
thronged the flower-decked church at Jamestown to see 
the wedding ceremony. A short time before her mar- 
riage Pocahontas had been received into the Church, and 



5o 




VIRGINIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 5 1 

the name Rebecca had been given her. She and her hus- 
band afterward visited England, where as "Lady Re- 
becca" she was kindly received by the king and queen. 
Here she met her old friend, John Smith, whom she had 
thought to be dead. She died before her return to Vir- 
ginia, leaving a little son, Thomas, who became a gentle- 
man of "note and fortune" in Virginia and the ancestor 
of some prominent families in the State. 

Tobacco and Slaves — The year before his marriage 
with Pocahontas, John Rolfe had planted a field with to- 
bacco. He raised a large crop, which he shipped to Eng- 
land and sold for a fine price. The Virginians saw they 
could make more money raising tobacco than in any other 
way. Every colonist who had a piece of land planted 
some tobacco. Woods were cleared, and new ground 
cultivated for this profitable crop. When, a few years 
later, a Dutch ship offered for sale at Jamestown twenty 
negro slaves, the colonists bought them to work their 
tobacco plantations. Finding the negroes well suited to 
this kind of labor, the Virginians were willing to pay a 
good price for them, and afterward English ships and 
ships from the colony of Massachusetts brought large 
numbers of the Africans to Virginia and to other English 
colonies that by that time had been established. 

No More Homesickness and Idleness — The same year 
that the first shipload of African slaves arrived at James- 
town another ship touched at the same wharf, laden with 
a cargo that brought more of real happiness and pros- 
perity to the colony than any shipload that arrived before 
or since. The great need of the first Virginians was 
wives to make happy homes. The first settlers were men 



52 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

and boys, and during the first ten years hardly any 
women came over. With no merry, romping children, 
no sweet-faced girls, no gentle, thoughtful wives and 
mothers in all the colony, it is no wonder the men were, 
idle and quarrelsome ; and when the fever came, without 
woman's tender nursing, no wonder so many of them 
died. The wise heads of the London Company at last 
found out what was the matter with their colony, and 

they induced sixty 



rosy-cheeked Eng- 
lish maidens to 
take pity on the 
lonesome Virginia 
bachelors, and' to 
cross the ocean to 
cheer them up. 
ruins of jamestown. At Jamestown a 

crowd of men met the maidens at the wharf, and the 
courting began at once. As soon as a Virginian per- 
suaded a girl to accept him he paid the ship captain her 
fare from England, and they hurried away and were 
married. These marriages proved to be so happy that 
more young English women agreed to come to Virginia, 
and there were more marriages on their arrival. New 
settlements were made on the banks of the James and 
other Virginia rivers, and the colony became firmly es- 
tablished. 

The King's Governor Resisted — Many of the Govern- 
ors of Virginia, like John Smith and Lord Delaware, 
ruled wisely and well. Governor Berkeley, however, 
was one who treated the people badly. When a young 




VIRGINIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 53 

planter named Nathaniel Bacon raised a company of 
men to defend their homes against the Indians Governor 
Berkeley ordered him to be arrested. Bacon then made 
war on the governor and chased him out of Jamestown 
and set fire to the place. Thus, in that olden time, the 
Virginians showed that they were not afraid to resist the 
king's officers when those officers trampled on their 
rights. Bacon died of fever in the midst of his success, 
and Governor Berkeley returned; but Jamestown was 
never rebuilt. Williamsburg, a new town on a higher 
and more healthful situation, became the capital of the 
colony. 

The Knights of the Golden Horseshoe. — Governor 
Spottswood, a later governor, had the adventurous spirit 
of Governor John Smith. He led a company of ex- 
plorers and hunters beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains 
into the beautiful valley of the Shenandoah. The horses 
of the party were shod — something unusual in those days 
— as a protection against the rocky mountain roads. On 
his return Governor Spottswood sent to London, and had 
made for each of his companions a small golden horse- 
shoe, which became the badge of the "Knights of the 
Golden Horseshoe/' Another act of Governor Spotts- 
wood, of more importance than his expedition beyond 
the mountains, was his directing the establishment of 
the first iron furnace in America, thus turning the atten- 
tion of the Virginians to the production of iron, with 
which their mountains are filled. 

Virginia Becomes a Large and Powerful Colony One 

hundred and fifty years after the death of Captain John 
Smith the struggling settlement at Jamestown, which he 



54 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

had so often saved from ruin, had become the powerful 
colony of Virginia. Virginians gradually moving west- 
ward had passed beyond, first, the Blue Ridge, then the 
Alleghenies, and had taken possession of what is now the 
State of Kentucky. Extending from the Atlantic Ocean 
to the Mississippi River, Virginia also claimed the region 
northwest as far as the Great Lakes. Twelve other Eng- 
lish colonies had been established in North America, 
but Virginia was the largest and richest of them all. 

What troubles befell the Virginians after the departure of Smith? 
Tell of the coming of Lord Delaware ; of the wedding of Pocahontas ; 
of her life after her marriage. Tell about the beginning of tobacco 
planting in Virginia; about the introduction of negro slaves; about 
the coming of English maidens. Who was Nathaniel Bacon? Tell 
of Bacon's warfare with Governor Berkeley; of Governor Spotts- 
wood's journey into the valley of Virginia; of the progress of the 
Virginia colony. 

Virginia's northern neighbor — Maryland 

Why the Colony was Founded — When Jamestown had 
been settled about twenty-five years, and the Virginians 
had gotten bravely over their early troubles from hunger, 
sickness, and the Indians, and were beginning to get rich 
from their great tobacco plantations, a new colony was 
formed on their northern border. The founder of this 
new colony was George Calvert, the first Lord Balti- 
more, a Roman Catholic nobleman, who had held high 
office in England and had at one time been a member of 
the Virginia Company. The law of England in those 
days placed many hardships upon members of the Roman 
Catholic Church, among other things imposing a heavy 
fine upon those who refused to attend the services of 



VIRGINIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 



55 



the Church of England. Lord Baltimore wished to 
establish a colony in America where his Roman Catholic 
brethren would be free to practice their religion without 
interference. 

The Grant of Land and the Name of the Colony. — King 
Charles I, who was a good friend of Lord Baltimore, 
gave him a tract of land north 
of the Potomac River, includ- 
ing the present States of Mary- 
land and Delaware, and part of 
Pennsylvania and West Vir- 
ginia. Like Virginia the new 
colony was named in honor of 
a queen. The w r ife of King 
Charles was Henrietta Maria, 
a French lady, and a member 
of the Roman Catholic Church. 
Maria is the same as Mary in 
English, and the king called the 
land he had given to Lord Bal- 
timore Mary's land, or Maryland, in honor of the queen. 

Lord Baltimore Dies. His Son Carries Out His Plan. 
i — Just as his grant was obtained Lord Baltimore died. 
His eldest son, Cecil Calvert, who now r became second 
Lord Baltimore, proceeded to carry out his father's plan. 
This son intended to cross the ocean with his first 
colonists, but he afterward decided to stay at home to 
keep his enemies from persuading the king to take back 
his American territory. About three hundred colonists, 
with Leonard Calvert, the younger brother of the second 
Lord Baltimore as governor, sailed into Chesapeake Bay 




GEORGE CALVERT, FIRST 
LORD BALTIMORE. 



56 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 



and up the Potomac River. "Never," wrote one of the 
colonists, "have I seen a larger or more beautiful river. 
The Thames seems a mere brook in comparison with it. 
Fine groves of trees appear, not choked with bushes, but 
growing far apart, so that you might easily drive a four- 
horse carriage through the midst of the trees." 

A Settlement Formed — Many Indians appeared on the 
bank of the river. They were struck with wonder at the 
size of the ships. The Indians made their boats, or 
canoes, of a single log hollowed out, and they wondered 

where the trees grew big enough to 
make so monstrous a canoe as that 
in which the white men sailed. 
[When Governor Calvert landed to 
look for a place for a settlement the 
chief received him very kindly, in- 
vited him to stay all night, gave him 
his own bed to sleep on, and spent the 
next day in showing him the country. 
On the north bank of the Potomac was an Indian town 
which the owners agreed to sell to the whites in return 
for axes, hoes, and cloth. The Indians gave up one-half 
of the town at once, and promised to give up the other 
half as soon as their crops were gathered. The colonists 
named their settlement St. Mary's, in honor of the Vir- 
gin Mary (1634). 

Mainland Gets a Good Start — The colonists had their 
hardships, but these hardships did not come at first, as 
had been the case at Jamestown, St. Mary's was situ- 
ated in a healthful place. The colonists had the cleared 
fields, which they had bought from rhe Indians, and huts 




SETTLEMENTS IN 
MARYLAND. 



VIRGINIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 57 

already built to protect them from the weather until more 
substantial homes could be made. The Indian men 
taught the settlers how to hunt deer, while the women 
showed them how to cook in the ashes a corn-meal cake 
which they called "pone," and also how to make "ominie" 
(our hominy) out of corn parched, broken, and boiled. 
The Indians also treated their new friends to boiled and 
roasted oysters from the famous oyster beds of the 
Chesapeake. 

Troubles Come — Lord Baltimore allowed no one in his 
colony to be disturbed on account of his religion, pro- 
vided be believed in Christ. Hence Protestants as well 
as Roman Catholics were among the settlers. After a 
while the Protestants outnumbered the Roman Catholics, 
and, sad to say, when they got control of the colony they 
passed laws that Roman Catholic worship should be pro- 
hibited in Maryland, that no Roman Catholic should vote 
or hold office, and that Lord Baltimore had no rights in 
the colony. There was fighting between the Protestant 
and Roman Catholic settlers. Finally the English gov- 
ernment restored Lord Baltimore to the rule of Mary- 
land, and freedom of worship was again established. 

Boundary Disputes — The Marylanders had disputes 
over the boundary of their colony with both their north- 
ern and their southern neighbors. The Virginians 
claimed that Maryland was included in their grant. A 
Virginia colonist who had some land in the territory 
granted to Lord Baltimore refused to pay taxes to the 
government of Maryland, and raised some troops to re- 
sist Lord Baltimore's officers. After considerable dis- 
turbance he was finally driven out. There was also a 



58 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

dispute over the boundary between Maryland and her 
northern neighbor, Pennsylvania. Both these colonies 
finally agreed that two surveyors, Mason and Dixon, 
should establish the correct boundary. The line they 
fixed was marked at the end of every fifth mile by a stone 
with the coat of arms of William Penn on the north side 
and of Lord Baltimore on the south. In later years it 
happened that the States north of this line all ceased to 
hold slaves, while those south of the line continued to be 
slaveholding. The line then became famous as "Mason 
and Dixon's line." Continuing westward along the 
Ohio River, it marked the boundary between the "free" 
and the "slave" States. 

Growth of Maryland — The soil of Maryland is very 
much like that of Virginia. As in Virginia, tobacco be- 
came the chief crop of the people of Maryland, and negro 
slaves were used to cultivate it. After a while wheat was 
raised also. The wheat was ground into flour, and 
thousands of barrels of it were shipped to the other 
colonies and to England. For a long time St. Mary's 
was the capital of the colony. Then the capital was 
moved to the town of Annapolis (named for Queen 
Anne of England), and St. Mary's, like Jamestow r n, 
was deserted. Nearly a hundred years after the found- 
ing of St. Mary's the town of Baltimore was laid out 
on the shore of the Chesapeake. It grew rapidly, and 
for many years has been the largest city south of 
Mason and Dixon's line. The city of Washington, 
our national capital, is situated on land granted to the 
United States government by Maryland. (See page 
195.) 



VIRGINIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 59 

Who was Lord Baltimore ? Why did he wish to establish a colony 
in America ? What land was given to Baltimore for his colony ? Ex- 
plain the name of the colony. Tell about the death of the first Lord 
Baltimore and how his plan of a colony was carried out. Where 
was the settlement made? How were the colonists received by the 
Indians? What was the name of their first settlement? Tell about 
Maryland's good start. What troubles arose between Protestants and 
Catholics ? Tell about the two boundary disputes and how they were 
settled. Tell of the growth of Maryland. 



Virginia's twin southern neighbors — the 

carolinas 

The First White Settlers in Carolina The region first 

known as "Virginia" which Queen Elizabeth gave to Sir 
Walter Raleigh, and which King James II afterward 
gave to the London Company, stretched far south of the 
present State of Virginia. Yet for a long time after 
Jamestown was founded there were no white settlements 
in the southern half of the great territory of Virginia. 
True, even before Raleigh's ships landed here, some 
Frenchmen had built a fort on the coast not far north of 
the Savannah River, and had named this fort Carolina, 
after their King Charles, or Carolus. They expected to 
make a permanent settlement and hold the country for 
France, but when their food gave out and the Indians 
became unfriendly they built a little ship out of the logs 
of the forest and sailed away. It is probable that some 
of these returning French Carolinians landed in Eng- 
land, and were the first to tell Queen Elizabeth about this 
beautiful land, which her favorite, Raleigh, afterward 
tried to colonize. Raleigh's settlements were made in 
this same region, but some distance north of the deserted 



6o THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

French fort of Carolina. The story of how his settle- 
ments ended in failure has already been told. 

The English Colony of Carolina Formed Just one 

hundred years after the French fort of Carolina was de- 
serted King Charles II of England gave to six of his 
friends the entire region south of Virginia as far as 
Spanish Florida. The name of Carolina, first given in 
honor of the French King Charles, was retained, since 
the reigning king of England was also a Charles. A 
company of Virginians had already come through the 
woods and had made the first settlement (1653) not far 
from where Raleigh's colony stood. Two shiploads of 
French Protestants, or Huguenots, landed further south 
and founded the city of Charleston (1670). Other set- 
tlers came from the West India Islands, from Europe, 
and from the older American colonies. 

Bad Government. — The proprietors of Carolina soon 
showed that they knew little about governing a colony. 
A set of laws was prepared by them which gave all power 
in the colony to the noblemen and no rights at all to the 
common people. For twenty years the proprietors tried 
to force these absurd laws on their colonists, and at last 
had to give up the attempt. The governors appointed by 
the proprietors were sometimes so tyrannical and worth- 
less that the people refused to obey them, and even chased 
them from the colony. 

The Carolina Pine Trees. — In spite of bad rulers the 
colony of Carolina grew in numbers and in wealth. In 
the northern half of the colony were great forests of 
pine trees. These pine trees not only afforded fine 
riniber \nr rrnk'ny ships, hut from them great quantities 



VIRGINIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 



61 



of pitch, tar, rosin, and turpentine were obtained. In 
those days, when ships were made altogether of wood, in- 
stead of with iron bottoms, as to-day, pitch and tar were 
needed to preserve 
the vessels from 




leaking, and these 
articles brought a 
good price in Eu- 
rope. With their 
axes the colonists 
cut great notches 
in the trunks of 
the pine trees near 
the ground. Then 
large kettles were 
so placed as to catch 
the streams of sap. 
This sap was after- 
ward boiled and 
prepared for mar- 
ket. So many of the colonists of northern Carolina were 
engaged in this industry that the name "tar-heels" was 
jokingly given them by their neighbors. 

The Palmetto Tree and the Rice Plant In southern 

Carolina another kind of tree, the palmetto, was found 
which proved very useful to the colonists. From one 
sort of palmetto they obtained a food like cabbage, and 
from the leaves of a tougher sort were made hats, ropes, 
and fans. The palmetto logs made splendid material 
for building forts, since the wood was so spongy that 
cannon balls sank into it without splitting or weakening 





CAROLINA PINE FOREST. 



62 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

it. When southern Carolina became a separate colony 
she placed a picture of a palmetto tree on her flag, and 
to-day the State is known as the "Palmetto State." But 
more valuable even than the palmetto tree was the rice 
plant. A ship captain returning from a voyage to is- 
lands near the African coast brought back a bag of rice 




RAISING AND IRRIGATING RICE. 



which he gave to the governor. At that time rice was 
something little known to the people of Europe, although 
for ages it had been the food of millions in China and 
Japan. The governor of Carolina had his rice planted, 
and found that the swampy lands exactly suited it. The 
rice grown in southern Carolina proved to be the best in 
the world, and it soon became the chief crop of the colony. 
To work the rice plantations many negro slaves were 



VIRGINIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 63 

brought from Africa. Southern Carolina soon had more 
slaves in proportion to its population than any other 
colony. 

Carolina Divided. — For sixty-six years the colony of 
Carolina was governed by proprietors. The proprietors 
then gave up their rights to the king, and Carolina was 
divided into two colonies, North Carolina and South 
Carolina. In North Carolina the town of Raleigh, 
named in honor of the great Sir Walter, who first tried to 
make a settlement on her shores, became the capital of 
the colony. In South Carolina Charleston was made the 
capital, and became one of the largest and richest towns 
in all the American colonies. 

Who first owned the country south of the present State of Virginia ? 
Tell about the efforts of the French to make settlements in this region. 
What did these French failures probably lead to? What grant of 
land in this region did King Charles II make? Explain the name of 
the colony. Tell of the first settlements. What bad government did 
the Carolinians endure? What use did the colonists make of their 
pine forests? of their palmetto trees? Tell about the beginning of 
rice culture in South Carolina. How did rice culture affect the num- 
ber of slaves? Tell of the division of Carolina into two colonies, 

Virginia's youngest neighbor — Georgia 

A New Colony — When Virginia had grown to be a 
powerful colony one hundred and twenty-five years of 
age, and when her twin southern neighbors had become 
firmly established and had been separated into North and 
South Carolina, a new colony was founded on the south- 
ern border of South Carolina — a colony which was at 
once the youngest and the most southern of all the thir- 
teen sisters. 



64 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

The Poor Debtors of England — To understand how 
this youngest colony came to be founded we must remem- 
ber that at one time it was the law in England that a 
man who did not pay his debts should be put in jail. We 
know that it is dishonest for a man to fail to pay his just 
debts, if he is able to do so. But sometimes a man gets 
into debt through no fault of his own, as by sickness, or 
accident, or rascality of others, and is unable to pay what 
he owes. No matter how the debt was caused, by the 
English law the debtor could be thrown into prison, and 
kept there until the debt was paid. If the poor man had 
a family, his wife and children were thus left without 
support. Hundreds of men and women were kept in 
prison until their death, and were cruelly treated by their 
jailers, all on account of some small debt they were un- 
able to pay. 

The Cruel Treatment of a Poor Debtor Awakens the In- 
dignation of His Friend — Among the wretched prisoners 
wearing away their lives in the debtors' jail was a Mr. 
Robert Castell, a scholar and writer who had once lived 
in a comfortable home with his wife and little children, 
but who unfortunately made debts he was unable to pay. 
Because Castell failed to give the keeper of the jail the 
"present" of money which was demanded of all the pris- 
oners, the cruel jailer ordered him locked up in a house 
where smallpox raged. Poor Castell took the smallpox 
and died in a few days, charging the jailer with his death. 
It happened that Castell had a friend named James Ogle- 
thorpe, once a soldier, then a member of the English 
Parliament. When Oglethorpe heard of the cruel death 
of his friend he was filled with indignation. He began to 



VIRGINIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 



examine the debtors' prisons, and found cruelties even 
more horrible than those from which his friend had suf- 
fered. He induced Parliament to pass laws to lessen the 
sufferings of the poor debtors. He formed a plan to re- 
lease many of them from prison and to offer them homes 
in America. 

Oglethorpe's Plan to Help the Debtors — An associa- 
tion was formed, with Oglethorpe as president, to found 
a colony in America "in trust for the poor." Their 
motto was a Latin 
phrase meaning, 
"Not for them- 
selves, but for 
others." The king 
(George II) ap- 
proved the plan of 
the "trustees," as 
they were called, 
and gave them the 
region between the 
Savannah River and the Spanish possessions in Florida. 
The name Georgia was given to the new colony in honor 
of the king. 

Oglethorpe's Colony Founded. — Many kind-hearted 
persons in England subscribed money to secure the re- 
lease of debtors, and to start them in their new homes. 
General Oglethorpe^himself accompanied the first ship- 
load of colonists. They stopped at Charleston for a few 
hours, and the governor of South Carolina made Ogle- 
thorpe a present of cattle, hogs, and rice. The Carolin- 
ians were well pleased to have a colony established as 




THE COLONY OF GEORGIA. 



66 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 



a barrier between them and the Spaniards of Florida. 
Entering the Savannah River in February, 1733, Ogle- 
thorpe selected a place for a settlement, which he named 
Savannah, from the Indian name of the river. 
Oglethorpe and Mary Musgrove. — Like William Penn, 

Oglethorpe was just in his 
dealings with Indians, and 
no other colony had so little 
trouble with the savages as 
Georgia and Pennsylvania. 
Among the Indians who 
greeted Oglethorpe on his 
arrival was a woman named 
Mary Musgrove, whose 
mother was an Indian, and 
whose father was a white 
Canadian trader. Mary 
Musgrove spoke both the 
English and the Indian lan- 
guages, so Oglethorpe employed her as his inter- 
preter and paid her a good salary. 

The Indian Chiefs Called Together Soon after his 

settlement was made Oglethorpe invited all the neighbor- 
ing chiefs to a meeting, that he might make an agree- 
ment with them about land for his colonists. The In- 
dians took their seats in a circle and rose in turn to speak. 
When it came to the turn of Tomochichi, chief of the 
tribe living ne#ct to the white settlement, the old Indian 
bowed very low and said: "When your people came 
here I* feared you would drive us away, for we were weak 
and wanted corn ; but you let us keep our land, ga«ve us 




OGLETHORPE. 



VIRGINIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 



f>7 




OGLETHORPE S COUNCIL WITH THE INDIANS. 



food, and taught our children. The chief men of all 
our nation are here to thank you for us. We all 
love your people so well that with them we will live and 
die." 

Tomochichi's Present.— Then Tomochichi handed 
Oglethorpe a buffalo skin painted on the inside with the 
head and feathers of an eagle. "Here is a little present," 
he said. "The whiles are swift as the eagle, flying to 
the farthest parts of the earth over great seas. They 
are strong as the buffalo, for nothing can withstand them. 
The feathers of the eagle are soft, and signify love; the 
buffalo skin is warm, and signifies protection. There- 



68 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

fore we hope that you will love and protect our little 
families." 

Agreement with the Indians — At this meeting the In- 
dians gave to the whites a large tract of land south of the 
Savannah River. Oglethorpe agreed not to let the 
white traders charge above a certain rate for their goods. 
The price of a white blanket, for example, should be one 
deerskin ; of a blue blanket, five deerskins ; of a gun, ten 
deerskins. General Oglethorpe then presented the chiefs 
with laced hats, coats, and shirts ; to the warriors he gave 
guns, tobacco, and other presents; and all went away 
happy. 

Tomochichi's Friendship for the Whites Like Pow- 
hatan in Virginia, Tomochichi was the firm friend of the 
whites. Once an Indian chief who thought he had been 
wronged by a white man declared he was going to kill 
all the English. Tomochichi tried to dissuade him from 
his purpose, and finally laid bare his breast before the 
angry chief, crying out, "If you wish to kill any one, kill 
me ; for I am an Englishman !" He then proved to the 
chief that the story of the wrong done him was all a 
mistake, and thus saved the whites from an attack. 

Tomochichi Visits England. — Tomochichi, with his 
wife, nephew, and several other Indians, accompanied his 
friend Oglethorpe to England. They were received 
with great honors. Tomochichi and his wife were 
dressed in scarlet and gold. The whole party were 
driven to the royal palace in the king's coaches, each 
coach drawn by six horses. Tomochichi was filled with 
wonder at the magnificent houses of London and the 
wealth and splendor on every side. On his return to 



VIRGINIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 69 

Georgia he said : "The Great Spirit has given the Eng- 
lish great wisdom, power, and riches so that they need 
nothing. To the Indians he has given great lands, but 
they need everything/' He urged his people to allow 
the English to settle among them on such lands as they 
themselves did not need, so that the Indians might be 
supplied with plows, axes, and the many articles the Eng- 
lish possessed. 

Death of Tomochichi — When- Tomochichi was an old 
man a fever attacked him, and he lay dying on a blanket 
in his w 7 igwam. Beside him sat his wife fanning him 
with a fan of feathers. His good friend Oglethorpe was 
there, too, doing what he could to make the old man com- 
fortable. With his last words the old chief expressed 
his love for Oglethorpe, and advised his people to con- 
tinue in their friendship for the English. He asked that 
his body might be buried among the English in the town 
of Savannah. His wash was carried out. General Ogle- 
thorpe, the officers of the town, and a great crowd of 
whites and Indians attended the funeral. Guns were 
fired from the fort in honor of the good chief as his body 
was lowered into the grave. 

Last Days of Oglethorpe — Like his friend Tomochichi, 
General Oglethorpe lived to be nearly a hundred years 
old. Not only poor debtors, but persecuted Protestants, 
were invited to settle in his colony. Many came from 
Germany and f rontScotland. The Spaniards of Florida 
claimed Georgia as part of their territory, and tried to 
drive out the English. But General Oglethorpe raised 
an army, drove back the Spaniards, and saved his colony. 
When Georgia was twenty-one years old the "trustees" 



JO THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

gave up the rule of the colony to the king, and Ogle- 
thorpe returned to England. He never ceased to be the 
friend of the people of America. When Georgia and 
her sister colonies in later years were at war with the 
mother country, England, the command of an English 
army was offered to General Oglethorpe. But he re- 
fused to fight against the American colonists. He lived 
to see the Americans successful in the war, and Georgia 
and the other colonies independent States. General 
Oglethorpe spent a large part of his fortune bringing 
colonists from Europe and securing homes for them. 
Unlike William Penn and Lord Baltimore, he obtained 
no rich estates in the colony which he founded. A 
splendid example of unselfish work in helping the poor 
and oppressed is left to us by James Oglethorpe. 

When was the youngest English colony founded? What was th^ 
old English law about debtors? Tell about the cruel treatment of 
the debtor Robert Castell. What effect did the death of Castell have 
upon his friend James Oglethorpe ? What plan did Oglethorpe form 
to help the debtors? Tell about the founding of Oglethorpe's colony; 
about Mary Musgrove; about the meeting of Oglethorpe and the 
Indian chiefs; about Tomochichi's present. What bargain did Ogle- 
thorpe make with the Indians? Tell how Tomochichi proved his 
friendship for the whites. Tell about Tomochichi's visit to England; 
about the death of Tomochichi ; about the last days of Oglethorpe. 



CHAPTER IV 

Massachusetts and Her Neighbors 

Myles Standish — Massachusetts 



THE COMING OF THE PILGRIMS 

Captain John Smith Explores and Names New Eng- 
land — After Captain John Smith left Virginia he was 
employed by the Plymouth Company of England to visit 
the northern coast of Amer- 
ica. He went to catch 
whales or to find gold, or, if 
he failed in these, to get fish 
and furs. In the matter of 
fish and furs he was success- 
ful, and while engaged in col- 
lecting his cargo he explored 
the coast from Maine to Cape 
Cod. He made a map of 
the region, and named it New 
England. The Plymouth 
Company were so pleased with what the captain had 
done that they called him "Admiral of New England." 

The Coming of the First New England Home Builders. 
— A few years after Admiral Smith's explorations of 
this region an English ship loaded with home seekers 

7* 




WHERE THE PILGRIMS LANDED. 



"J2 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

came in sight of that part of the New England coast that 
thrusts out into the Atlantic the narrow, hook-shaped 
tongue of land now known as Cape Cod. No flower- 
decked fields, no balmy breezes of springtime welcomed 
these newcomers. The bleak November winds that 
swept through the leafless trees and scattered the snow 
over barren sands sounded a cheerless greeting to the 
good ship Mayflower, and to the shivering people who 
thronged her deck. Unlike the first Virginia colonists, 
this company included women and children. After their 
long and stormy voyage the boys and girls must have 
been heartily tired of the ship, and no doubt they begged 
their parents to disembark at once. The leaders of the 
colony, however, wished to sail farther south, but the sail- 
ors who controlled the ship declared the weather was too 
stormy to proceed farther. So it was decided to select a 
place here for a settlement (1620). 

The Pilgrims of England, and Why Some of Them 
Went to Holland — -To understand who these colonists 
were, and why they came to America, you must know 
that they belonged to a class of people living in Eng- 
land three hundred years ago who did not believe in 
worshiping God in the same way that most of the Eng= 
lish people did. They thought certain customs of the 
English churchmen were wrong, and that some of their 
beliefs were not according to the Bible. So these peo- 
ple — afterward called "Pilgrims" because of their wan- 
derings — refused to attend the regular churches, and in- 
stead had meetings at their homes or at the homes of 
their ministers. They were fined and imprisoned for 
not attending church, but this only made them more de= 



MASSACHUSETTS AND HER NEIGHBORS 73 

termined than ever. The officers of the law broke up 
their public meetings, and they had to assemble secretly. 
So much trouble did these Pilgrims have that at last 
some of them decided to leave their country and go 
across the North Sea to Holland, where people were al- 
lowed to worship God as they pleased. 

They are Dissatisfied with Their Home in Holland. — 
When the king's officers learned of the intended de- 
parture of the Pilgrims they arrested those preparing 
to set out. Most of them managed to escape from Eng- 
land, however, and in the free land of Holland made 
new homes, and worshiped God in their own way. But 
there w r ere several things that prevented them from be- 
ing happy in Holland. They dearly loved their Eng- 
lish language and their English customs, and it made 
them sad to see their children learning to use the lan- 
guage of their Dutch playmates more readily than their 
mother tongue, and when their girls grew up and mar- 
ried the young Hollanders, and when their boys joined 
the Dutch armies or became officers in the Dutch govern- 
ment, it seemed that even the memory of old England 
would be lost. The news of the success of the James- 
town settlement turned their thoughts to America. 
They determined to move once more, and to build a new 
England beyond the sea. 

They Sail to America. — But, like Christopher Colum- 
bus, the Pilgrims were too poor to hire the ships that 
were necessary to carry them across the ocean. They 
wrote to their friends in England, and at last some rich 
English merchants were persuaded to lend them money 
for the voyage. With all the help they could get, how- 



74 



THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 



ever, they were able to hire only one ship, and that a 
small, leaky one. As this little ship could not carry all 
the Pilgrims who wanted to go, they chose the young- 
est and strongest of their number, thinking that these 
could best endure the dangers and privations that lay 
before them. There was one soldier in the company, 
Captain Myles Standish, who had left his home in Eng- 
land years before to fight in the 
w r ars of Holland. He was not 
himself a member of the Pil- 
grim congregation, but the Pil- 
grims were his warm friends, 
and with something of John 
Smith's love of adventure he 
joined the little company bound 
for America. Sailing from 
Holland, the Pilgrims touched 
on the English coast, where a 
larger and stronger vessel, the 
Mayflower, was obtained, and the first ship was left be- 
hind. After a stormy voyage of several months they 
came in sight of the shores of Cape Cod. 

Captain Standish is Warmly Received by the Indians. 
— Captain Standish with a small party of men landed 
and began looking for a place to settle. They found 
paths in the forest, evidently made by the Indians, some 
baskets of corn buried in the ground, and a number of 
deserted huts, or wigwams. One day while Captain 
Standish's exploring party were preparing breakfast 
around their camp fire they were startled by a wild yell 
different from any sound they had ever heard before, and 




MYLES STANDISH, 



MASSACHUSETTS AND HER NEIGHBORS 75 

at the same time a shower of arrows flew past them. 
The noise was the "war whoop" of a band of Indians, 
who with their bows and arrows were advancing from 
the woods to attack the Englishmen. Captain Standish 
and his men rushed to their boats, and seizing their guns, 
hastily fired. When the bullets from the white men's 
guns went whistling past their ears the Indians took 
to their heels. 

Tell about Captain John Smith's exploration of New England. 
What part of the New England coast was seen by the first home 
seekers from Europe? Compare their landing to the landing of the 
first Jamestown colonists, noting the different season of the year, 
the different appearance of the country, and the difference in the 
colonists themselves. What decided them in selecting a place for 
landing? Who were the Pilgrims? Why did they go to Holland? 
Why were they dissatisfied with their Holland homes? What did 
they determine to do? How did they carry out their plan? Who 
was Myles Standish? Tell of the voyage of the Pilgrims from Hol- 
land to America; of Captain Standish's first encounter with the In- 
dians. 

FOUNDING OF THE PILGRIM-PURITAN COLONIES 

The First Homes Built. — After a month spent in exv 
ploring the coast the Pilgrims selected for their home 
a spot which Captain John Smith had called Plymouth, 
on the map which he had made of this region. Here 
were deserted grain fields, which saved them the trouble 
of clearing land for their crops. Here, too, was a 
stream of pure water and a harbor for ships. So they 
landed and began building their log cabins. Everybody 
worked. The boys helped by shoveling away the snow, 
and carrying the lighter timbers as their fathers cut 
them in the woods ; while the girls helped their mothers 



j6 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

cook and wash and mend the clothes. They had no 
glass to put in their windows, so they pasted oiled paper 
upon the window sashes. Although they could 'not see 
through these queer window panes, yet the oiled paper let 
in some light and kept out the bitter cold air. 

The First Winter — You remember that in the James- 
town colony the hot summer brought fevers and deaths. 
To the people of the more northern colony of Plymouth 
the bitter cold of winter caused much suffering. The 
long voyage across the ocean in a crowded ship had 
weakened their health, to begin with. And their poor 
food and exposure to the cold brought on a kind of quick 
consumption, that caused the death of nearly half the 
settlers before the winter was over. Among the first to 
die was Rose Standish, wife of the brave captain. On 
a hill overlooking the sea Captain Standish and his 
friends buried their dead. Then the graves were leveled 
and the hill sown with wheat. This was done that the 
Indians might not know how many had died, and how 
few were left to guard the settlement. But in spite of 
their trials the brave Pilgrims did not give up. When 
the Mayflower sailed for England in the spring no one 
asked to be taken back. 

Why there Was No Trouble with the Indians at First. 
—While Captain Standish and his men found many 
traces of the Indians in old paths, deserted wigwams, 
and fields, yet they were surprised to find that the In- 
dians themselves had removed their homes from this 
region. A deadly plague, or disease, had broken out 
among them some years before, and had killed so many 
that the survivors fled in terror from the scene of so 



MASSACHUSETTS AND HER NEIGHBORS yy 

great sufferings. This was a fortunate thing for the 
settlers, as they were thus saved from conflicts with 
the Indians during the early years of their colony. 

Some Friendly Indians— Samoset and Squanto One 

day an Indian appeared at Plymouth, and, walking down 
the streets, called out, "Welcome, Englishmen!" None 
of the Pilgrims had ever heard an Indian talk before, 
and they were astonished to hear this man speak in 
the English language. They found that his name was 
Samoset, and that he had learned a few words from a 
party of Englishmen who had spent a short time fishing 
on the coast near by. Samoset took dinner with the 
settlers, and told them about the terrible sickness that 
had driven the Indians away from the Plymouth region. 
Other Indians then visited Plymouth, among them one 
named Squanto, who had once been taken a captive to 
Europe, and there had learned to speak English readily. 
Squanto taught the settlers many useful things. As 
they had never seen corn before, he showed them how to 
plant it in hills, placing a fish in each hill to enrich the 
soil, which was sandy and poor. He also taught them 
a way to catch fish and eels without hook or net. 

Chief Massasoit — The chief of the Indians of eastern 
Massachusetts was Massasoit. At the suggestion of 
Samoset the governor of the colony sent an invitation 
to this chief to visit the settlers. He came accompanied 
by his principal braves, and was met by Governor Brad- 
ford and Myles Standish with two soldiers playing upon 
the drum and fife. They all marched to the council 
chamber at Plymouth, where a great feast had been pre- 
pared for the Indians. A treaty was made in which the 



78 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

Indians agreed not to disturb the Plymouth people in 
the possession of the lands they occupied. As long as 
Massasoit lived this treaty was kept. Like Powhatan 
in Virginia, he was the friend of the whites. When 
news came to Plymouth that Massasoit was ill Edward 
Winslow set out through the woods to visit and nurse 
him. The weather was hot, but he found the sick chief 
tossing on a dirty pallet in a closed cabin crowded with 
Indians who had come to help their "medicine men" con- 
jure away the evil spirits that had caused the sickness. 
Winslow put the crowd out of the room and opened the 
doors to let in fresh air. Then he gave the sick man a 
much-needed bath, and administered some simple medi- 
cines. For three days he nursed his patient, and at the 
end of that time the sick man was able to walk about. 
Massasoit and his whole tribe were grateful for this act 
of kindness, and in many ways showed their friendship 
for the Plymouth colonists. 

Thanksgiving Day.— In the autumn, when the crops 
were gathered, the Pilgrims determined to show their 
thankfulness to God for his goodness to them by having 
a time of special thanksgiving. Some young men who 
had been sent hunting by Governor Bradford brought 
in a large number of wild turkeys, and their Indian 
friends furnished an abundance of venison. Other good 
things to eat were supplied by the wives and maidens 
of the colony. For several days the services of praise 
at the meetinghouse, or church, were followed by feast- 
ing and by trials of skill in shooting at a mark, in which 
both Indians and whites joined. This was the beginning 
of our custom of a yearly Thanksgiving Day. 



MASSACHUSETTS AND HER NEIGHBORS 79 

Captain Standish Sends a Message and Gets Angry 
with His Friend. — Among those who came to Plymouth 
in the good ship Mayflower was a young woman named 
Priscilla Mullins. During the first dreadful winter no- 
body worked harder nursing the sick and comforting 
the sorrowing than did this sweet Pilgrim maiden. 
Skillful with spinning wheel, needle, and thread, she was 
always busy trying to make others happy. To Captain 
Standish in his sadness and loneliness Priscilla seemed 
the loveliest maiden in Plymouth. He decided she was 
the one woman in the world who could take Rose Stan- 
dish's place in his heart. But with all his bravery in 
war the captain was a coward when it came to facing 
the ladies. He was not afraid of a rifle ball, but he 
was afraid of a woman's laugh. So instead of propos- 
ing to Miss Priscilla himself he asked his young friend 
John Alden to go to the young lady and tell her that 
Captain Standish wished her to become his wife. Now, 
John Alden himself was in love with Priscilla. Yet he 
felt that he must be true to his friend. So he sorrow- 
fully obeyed the captain's request. In the midst of his 
praises of the captain, however, the laughing Priscilla 
stopped her lover with the question, "Why don't you 
speak for yourself, John?" When the fiery captain 
learned how his messenger had failed he blazed up with 
anger. But afterward he found a wife to comfort his 
heart, and when John Alden and Priscilla were married 
he freely forgave them both. 

The Coming of the Puritans. — Not long after the Pil- 
grims had founded Plymouth another settlement was 
made on the coast a few miles farther north. The new 



80 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

settlement was formed by some Englishmen who came 
to America for the same reason that brought the Pil- 
grims—they wanted to worship God in their own way, 
undisturbed. In their religion they were much like the 
Pilgrims, except that they did not at first try to form a 
separate Church from the Church of England, as the 
Pilgrims did. They wished to remain members of the 
Church of England, but they wanted some of its beliefs 
and practices changed — "purified/' as they said. Hence 
the name "Puritans" was given them. When they 
found they could not get the changes they wished in the 
Church they began to think of coming to America, as the 
Pilgrims had done. 

The Puritan Settlements. — The first settlement made 
by the Puritans was called Salem (a Bible word, mean- 
ing Peace) . Soon afterward about a thousand Puritans, 
most of them from the town of Boston, England, came 
over under Governor Winthrop, and established another 
settlement, which they named Boston, after their old 
home. Boston grew rapidly, and soon became the capi- 
tal of the Puritan colony. The colony itself was known 
as the "Massachusetts Bay Colony/' the word "Mas- 
sachusetts" being the Indian name for the "Blue Hills/' 
near Boston. The Plymouth colony and the Massachu- 
setts Bay colony were afterward joined in one, and called 
the colony of Massachusetts. 

Where did the Pilgrims make their settlement ? How did the boys 
and girls help ? What kind of windows did their houses have ? Tell 
of the sufferings of the settlers the first winter. What sorrow came 
to Captain Standish? How did the colonists conceal from the Indians 
the number of deaths? Why were there so few Indians in this 



MASSACHUSETTS AND HER NEIGHBORS 



8l 



region? Tell about Samoset; about Squanto; about the treaty with 
Massasoit; about Massasoit's sickness and cure. Tell about the first 
Thanksgiving Day. Who was Priscilla Mullins ? Tell about Captain 
Standish's message to Priscilla. Who made a settlement near Ply- 
mouth? What was the difference between the Puritans and the 
Pilgrims? What settlements were made by the Puritans ? Tell about 
the growth of Boston; about the union of the Pilgrim-Puritan col- 
onies. 

THE LITTLE NEIGHBOR OF MASSACHUSETTS 

RHODE ISLAND 

Strictness of the Puritans. Roger Williams The 

Puritans were so determined that their religion should 
not be interfered with 
in their new home 
that they made the 
mistake of trying to 
make everybody who 
came to their colony 
think exactly as they 
did in religious mat- 
ters. No churches ex- 
cept Puritan churches, 
or "meetinghouses," 
were permitted. Peo- 
ple who stayed from 
public worship were 
fined, or sometimes 
put in a wooden cage. When Roger Williams, a Sepa- 
ratist minister, came 4o the colony, and began to preach 
that the rulers should not interfere with any man's re- 
ligion, he was arrested and ordered to go back to Eng- 
land. 




ROGER WILLIAMS CHURCH 



82 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

Roger Williams Establishes a New Colony Instead of 

getting on board the ship that was to take him back to 
England, Roger Williams ran off into the woods, and 
lived a while with some friendly Indians. Then he 
started a settlement (1636), which he called "Provi- 
dence," because of God's merciful providence toward him. 
He invited all people who thought themselves badly 
treated on account of their religion to come to his set- 
tlement, promising to let them believe whatever they pre- 
ferred, and belong to any church they wished, or not 
to join any church if they thought best. Many set- 
tlers from Massachusetts accepted his invitation, and 
came through the woods to join him. Roger Williams's 
colony was afterward known as Rhode Island, from the 
Dutch words for Red Island, an island with red soil not 
far from Providence. 

TWO OTHER NEIGHBORS OF MASSACHUSETTS 

Other New England Colonies. — The Massachusetts col- 
ony and the Rhode Island colony were next-door neigh- 
bors, with a strip of woods separating them. Adjoin- 
ing them two other colonies were formed, known as 
Connecticut and New Hampshire. This group of four 
colonies occupied the region named "New England" on 
Captain John Smith's map. The four colonies were 
known as the New England colonies. 

What mistake did the Puritan colonists make? Who was Roger 
Williams? Tell about his treatment by the rulers of the colony; 
about the founding of the colony of Rhode Island. What two other 
colonies were founded in the region of New England? Name the 
New England colonies. 



CHAPTER V 



Pennsylvania and Her Neighbors 

William Penn — Pennsylvania 

A College Student Joins the Quakers and Gets Into 
Trouble — Not long after Roger Williams founded the 
Rhode Island colony a boy was born in England who 
was destined, w T hen he grew up, to be the founder of 
one of the largest and most important of the English 
colonies in America. The boy's mother 
was a Dutch lady, and his father was Ad- 
miral Penn, a noted sea-fighter. Young 
William Penn was sent to the best schools 
of England. When a young man at col- 
lege he and other students used to attend 
the preaching of a denomination of Chris- 
tians known as "Friends," or "Quakers." 
The Quakers believed in following the 
exact words of Christ's teachings. They 
would not say "I swear" even when 
the judge wished them to take an oath 
in court. They believed that a person 
strike back when struck, but should "turn the other 
cheek." In talking they said "thou" and "thee" instead 
of "you," and called every one by his plain name, with- 
out Sir or Mr. or Mrs. They kept on their hats in 
|church, and would not take them off before any one, even 

83 




s » 



A QUAKER. 

should not 



84 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

the king himself. Although Quakers were at that time 
often whipped and imprisoned, and some of them even 
put to death, Penn liked their teachings so well that he 
became a Quaker himself. Believing that the morning 
pra3^ers at college were not conducted in the right way, 
he refused to attend them. He refused also to wear the 
gown in which students were required to dress, and with 
his friends he tore the gowns from some who wore them. 
Of course this was wrong, and he was expelled from 
school. 

William Penn's Conduct Angers His Father. — Old Ad- 
miral Penn was very angry because of his son's conduct. 
He sent young William to France, hoping that travel 
would make him give up his newfangled notions. But 
the young man clung to his Quaker beliefs, and even 
wrote books to prove that the Quakers should not be dis- 
turbed because of their customs. He was thrown into 
prison; but he spent his time in jail writing more books 
in defense of the Quakers. Released from prison, he 
traveled in Holland, his mother's homeland, and in other 
countries of Europe, preaching Quaker doctrines. His 
father had become so angry with him because he would 
not promise to take off his hat to the king, the Duke 
of York, and himself that he ordered him to leave home 
and never to come back. But his mother wrote to her 
son and kept him supplied with money. After a while 
the old admiral, overcome by his wife's pleadings, and 
seeing it was no use to oppose his son's beliefs, permitted 
him to return home. 

Penn's Woods — On the death of Admiral Penn his son 
William inherited his fortune. King Charles II had bor- 



PENNSYLVANIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 85 

rowed a large sum of money from Admiral Penn, which 
he had never repaid. Finding it impossible to protect 
his Quaker friends from persecution in England, Wil- 
liam Penn now asked the king for a grant of land in 
America, in payment of his father's claim. He thus 
hoped to establish a home in the New World for the per- 
secuted Quakers. The king agreed to pay the debt in 
this way, and a large tract of land west of the Delaware 
River was given to Penn (1681). On account of the 
great forests in this region Penn suggested the name 
Sylvania, the Latin for "woods"; but the king insisted 
on naming the grant Pennsylvania, or Penn's Woods, 
in honor of Admiral Penn. Pennsylvania lay about half- 
way between the Plymouth and the Jamestown settle- 
ments, and was larger than all of England. 

The City of Brotherly Love — Penn determined to es- 
tablish what he called a "godly commonwealth," where 
people should be as free in matters of religion as they 
were in Holland. He crossed the ocean himself with 
his colonists, and laid out a city on the west bank of the 
Delaware (1683). He named the place Philadelphia, 
which means brotherly love. He had drawn a map of 
his proposed city before leaving England. The streets 
were to run north and south, and east and west. Those 
running north and south were named First Street, Sec- 
ond Street, and so on, while those running east and west 
were called after trees and fruits, as Pine, Walnut, Mul- 
berry. The town grew very rapidly, and soon became 
the largest city in all the colonies. After the colonies 
became States Philadelphia was, for a time, the capital 
of the United States. 



86 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

How Penn Obtained His Land — We know that the 
king of England claimed all the land from Newfound- 
land to Florida, because John Cabot had sailed in an 
English ship along this coast before any other white 
man had seen it. The king granted portions of his 
American land to trading companies, and some he gave 
to favorite friends, or, as in the case of William Penn, 
he used it to pay debts. The white settlers who came 
to America obtained their titles to the land on which 
they built their homes from the trading companies, or 
from the proprietors to whom the king had given it. In 
most of the colonies the Indians were not supposed to 
have any rights to the land, although their fathers and 
grandfathers before them had hunted upon it and they 
had always looked upon it as their own. When the In- 
dians objected to the seizure of their land the colonists 
often took up arms and drove them far away to the west. 
William Penn, however, believed that the Indians had 
a right to the land upon which they lived, even if they 
did not fence it in and cultivate it. Although he had 
obtained his land from the king, yet he would not oc- 
cupy it or allow his colonists to do so until they had 
bought it again from the Indians. 

Penn's Treaty — Soon after he reached his colony 
Penn sent word to the chiefs of all the neighboring In- 
dian tribes to meet him. The meeting took place under 
a great elm tree near the banks of the Delaware River. 
Penn had no soldiers with him, and his few companions 
carried no guns or weapons of any kind. He told the 
red men he wanted to make a bargain with them for the 
purchase of their land, and to establish peace and friend- 



PENNSYLVANIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 



87 



ship between his people and their people. "All between 
us/' said Penn, "shall be openness and love. The friend- 
ship between you and me I will not compare to a chain, 
for that the rain might rust or a falling tree might break. 
We are the same as if one man's body were divided into 
two parts; we are all one flesh and blood!" Then Penn 



■ 




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*1 S ' 0r- 


WW : '^'% "'- - M'&n^SW^ ■-- '•'■' '>■ ~\ ••-•'■"■ -■■'':■ ''■ 


i * ?J^ 




' 



PENN S TREATY WITH THE INDIANS. 



gave the chiefs presents, and they presented him with 
a belt of "wampum," consisting of long strings of white 
shells with three slanting bands of black, and with two 
figures worked in the center — one a bareheaded Indian, 
the other a white man with a hat on, who are clasping 
hands in token of friendship. The Indians were so 
pleased with Penn's fairness and kindness that they said, 




88 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

"We will live in love with William Penn and his children 
as long as the sun and moon shall shine." As a sign 
of friendship they brought out the "pipe of peace/' a 

tobacco pipe with a long stem, 
ornamented with feathers, 
and, lighting it, solemnly 
passed it around the circle, 
white man and red man each 
taking a few whiffs. The In- 

INDIAN PEACE PIPE i- , ' . u - 

dians kept their promise ot 
peace, and it is said that no Quaker was ever killed by 
an Indian. The great elm under which the treaty was 
made stood for more than a hundred years. 

Growth of the Colony.— William Penn was a wise 
ruler. He declared that every citizen should worship 
God as he thought right. His laws gave equal pro- 
tection to Indians and white men. He believed that 
even bad men should not be imprisoned in cold, dark, 
dirty jails, like most of the jails in England at that time. 
He established in Pennsylvania workhouses where crim- 
inals were put to work, because he believed idleness made 
bad men worse. His kind and just government at- 
tracted many people to his colony. Besides English 
Quakers, large numbers of immigrants came from Ger- 
many, Holland, Sweden, and Switzerland. German- 
town, near Philadelphia, was settled by Germans, as the 
name shows. In later years many came from Scotland 
and Ireland. No other colony was settled by people 
of so many different nations, but in no other colony were 
the citizens more peaceable, contented and prosperous. 

Last Days of Penn. — After remaining two years in his 



PENNSYLVANIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 89 

colony Penn returned to England. James II, who be- 
came king about this time, was a warm friend of Penn, 
and this friendship enabled Penn to secure protection for 
the suffering Quakers in England. But most of the 
English people did not like King James, and they drove 
him from the throne. Afterward Penn was several 
times arrested on the charge of trying to bring back 
the banished king. Nothing could be proved against 
him, however, and he was released. With his wife and 
daughters he again visited his American colony, but 
hastened back to England when he heard the govern- 
ment was planning to take away his rights as proprietor 
of Pennsylvania. In the last years of his life he was 
stricken with paralysis, and was scarcely able to move. 
After his death his children became proprietors of his 
colony. On the tower of the great city hall of Phila- 
delphia to-day is an immense statue of William Penn, 
reminding all who see it of one of the noblest men in 
the early history of our country. 

When and where was William Penn born? Who were his parents? 
Who were the Quakers? Tell about William Penn's life at school. 
For what was he expelled? How did his father try to cure him of 
his Quaker beliefs? What was done to Penn by the king's officers? 
What effect did this have upon him ? What promise did young Penn 
refuse to make? Tell about his father's anger; about his mother's 
course toward him. For what purpose did he wish to obtain a grant 
of land in America ? How did he obtain this grant ? W r here was his 
land situated? What can you say of the size of his grant? of the 
name given? What sort of government did Penn wish to establish? 
Tell about the city that Penn founded. From whom did the white 
settlers generally get their land? What about the Indians' rights to 
the land? How did Penn act in the matter of getting land for his 
colonists? Tell about Penn's treaty with the Indians. What can 



90 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

you say about Perm's rule of his colony? of the growth of Pennsyl- 
vania? Tell about the friendship of King James for Penn ; about 
Penn's last days; about the monument to his memory. What can 
you admire about Penn? 

Pennsylvania's little neighbor — Delaware 

Delaware. — When Penn first came to America he found 
a settlement of Swedes on the Delaware River at what is 
now Wilmington, in the State of Delaware. These set- 
tlers readily agreed to become a part of his colony, Penn 
having obtained a grant to this region in addition to the 
land the king had first given him. For about twenty 
years this part of Pennsylvania was called the "Three 
Lower Counties on the Delaware." When Delaware 
became an independent State she adopted a blue flag 
with white stars. Some one said that the flag looked 
like "a speckled blue hen." To-day the people of Dela- 
ware are sometimes called the "Blue Hen's Chickens." 
Delaware and Rhode Island were the smallest colonies, 
and they are to-day our smallest States. 

Pennsylvania's twin neighbors — the jerseys 

East of the Delaware — The same King Charles who 
granted the land west of the Delaware River to William 
Penn had some years before given the region east of 
the Delaware to his own brother, the Duke of York. 
The duke gave it to two of his friends, one of whom was 
governor of an island in the English Channel called Jer- 
sey Island, the home of Jersey cows. In compliment 
to his governor friend the duke named the territory New 
Jersey. The two proprietors divided their colony into 



PENNSYLVANIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 



9 1 



two parts, one called East Jersey 
and one West Jersey. Among the 
settlers were many Swedes and 
Dutchmen, besides many English 
Quakers. William Penn and some 
wealthy friends bought West Jersey, 
and afterward East Jersey, from the 
proprietors. But the governor of 
the adjoining colony of New York 
claimed the Jerseys as part of his 
colony, and there was so much con- 
troversy that finally Penn and his 
friends gave up their Jersey colonies to the king. The 
twin Jerseys were then united into one colony, called 
New Jersey. 




COLONIES OX THE 
DELAWARE RIVER. 



PENNSYLVANIA S DUTCH NEIGHBOR NEW YORK 

Some Things We Owe to the Dutch.— We should not 
forget how much the people of the little country. of Hol- 
land did for our forefathers. The first settlers of New 
England found a refuge in Holland when driven from 
their own land, and from Holland they sailed to America. 
The mother of the owner of Pennsylvania was a Dutch 
lady, whose careful training of her son strengthened 
those noble traits that made him the successful founder 
of a great colony. In the wars which the Dutch fought 
to save their land from foreign oppressors many soldiers 
from England helped them. Among these English sol- 
diers were Walter Raleigh, John Smith, Myles Stan- 
dish, and others who in Holland Learned much that was 



92 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

useful to them in establishing American colonies. In 
Pennsylvania and the two adjoining colonies of Dela- 
ware and New Jersey many of the first settlers were 
Dutch. There was one colony, however, which was 
truly a Dutch colony, for it was discovered, settled, and 
for many years ruled by the Dutch. This was Pennsyl- 
vania's northern neighbor, now known as the State of 
New York. 




THE HALF-MOON ON THE HUDSON. 

The First Dutch Ship Visits America — Henry Hudson 
was an English captain, and a friend of John Smith. In 
the same year that John Smith sailed to Virginia, Cap- 
tain Hudson was sent by an English trading company in 
a small ship to find a way to India by sailing northeast — 
that is, north of Europe and Asia. He was stopped by 



PENNSYLVANIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 



93 



the ice and had to return. The "East India Company" 
of Holland was also anxious to find a short water route 
to India, and they employed Captain 
Hudson to sail for them in the same di- 
rection as he had sailed before. Again 
he was stopped by the ice. Now, Cap- 
tain John Smith had written from Vir- 
ginia to his friend Hudson that he had 
heard of a strait somewhere north of 
Virginia by which a ship might sail 
through to India. Remembering this 
letter, Captain Hudson turned his ship 
westward and sailed for America. In 
the month of September, two years after 
Jamestown had been founded, Hudson's 
Dutch ship, the Half-Moon, entered 
what is now New York Bay. Sailing 
onward, the captain came to what 
seemed a great arm of the sea stretching 
up into the land. He now hoped he had 
at last discovered the way to India. 
But, continuing his course, he found 
that the supposed "strait" was a great 
river, which became narrower and shal- 
lower until his ship could go no farther. 
Seeing no prospect of reaching India, he 
turned back toward Holland. The ma- 
jestic river he had discovered was called 
the Hudson River in his honor. 

The Dutch Colony Founded The 

Dutch at once claimed the country on 



94 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 



both banks of the Hudson River, and sent out men to 
establish trading posts. These trading posts were 
combinations of forts for holding the country and stores 
at which hatchets, blankets, beads, and trinkets were 
sold to the Indians in trade for skins of animals. Later, 
settlements were made, the most important of which 
was on an island at the mouth of the Hudson, where 
the city of New York now stands. This settlement 
(1623) was called New Amsterdam, after one of the 




NEW AMSTERDAM (NEW YORK) IN 1623. 

chief cities of Holland. One name for Holland is 
"the Netherlands" (which means "low lands"). So 
the Dutch named their American colony New Nether- 
lands, in memory of their old home. Like the Quakers 
of Pennsylvania, they bought their lands from the In- 
dians and lived peaceably with them. The entire island 
of Manhattan, on which New York now stands, was 
purchased for trinkets worth about twenty-four dollars, 



PENNSYLVANIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 



95 



or at the rate of about a thousand acres for a dollar. 
Now it would take many thousand dollars to buy one 
acre of this same land. 

New Netherlands Becomes New York The English 

claimed New Netherlands because of Cabot's discovery. 
At first they paid 
no attention to the 
Dutch settlements, 
but fifty years after 
New Amsterdam 
was founded an 
English fleet ap- 
peared in the har- 
bor and sent a 
message to Peter 
Stuyvesant, the 
Dutch governor, 
demanding the sur- 
render of the city 
and colony. The 
governor became 
very angry. He 
stamped around on 
his wooden leg and 
swore he would 
never surrender. But his Dutch subjects were not very 
fond of his rule. They thought they would like a 
change to the English, so they made the old governor 
surrender. The English changed both names, New 
Netherlands and New Amsterdam, to New York, in 
honor of the king's brother, the Duke of York, to whom 




Copyright Underwood & Underwood. 

SCENE IN NEW YORK CITY, TO-DAY, 



96 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

the king had given all the Dutch possessions in 
America. 

Growth of the Colony — For a long time the growth of 
the colony was slow. It was after the colonies had be- 
come States before the city of New York had as many 
people as Philadelphia, or the State of New York had as 
many people as Virginia. Now New York State is 
ahead of all the other States in population, and New 
York city is the largest city in our country. 

Whom did Penn find already settled on part of his land when he 
first came to America? Where? What was this part of Pennsyl- 
vania called? Tell about the "Blue Hen's Chickens/" To whom was 
the land east of the Delaware granted? Explain the name "New 
Jersey." Why were there two Jerseys ? By whom were the Jerseys 
bought ? To whom were they finally given ? What change was then 
made? Tell some things we owe to the people of Holland. What 
colony was founded by the Dutch? Tell about the voyages Captain 
Henry Hudson made toward the northeast ; about Hudson's discovery 
of a great river. What did the Dutch claim? Tell about the Dutch 
trading posts. Where was the most important Dutch settlement? 
What name was given it? Explain the name the Dutch gave their 
colony. Tell about their purchase of Manhattan Island. What na- 
tion disputed the claim of the Dutch to New Netherlands ? What was 
the basis of the English claim? Tell about the conquest of the Dutch 
colony by Englishmen; of the change in names; of the growth of 
New York. 



CHAPTER VI 

The Rise of New France 

Cartier, the Explorer 

French Explorers in the North and West While Eng- 
lishmen were busy clearing the forests and building 
homes along the Atlantic coast of North America bold 
pioneers of France were following the waterways and 
exploring the wilderness north and west of the English 
colonies. The Frenchmen established trading posts and 
settlements in the region they explored, named it New 
France, and claimed it for their king. The men fore- 
most in acquiring this great domain for France were 
Jacques Cartier, Samuel Champlain, Robert Cavalier de 
la Salle, and the Le Moyne brothers, Iberville and Bien- 
ville. 

Cartier Discovers the St. Lawrence River. — Nearly 
fifty years after Columbus's discovery, and fifty years 
before Raleigh sent his first ship to America, Jacques 
Cartier, sailing from France, reached the coast of New- 
foundland. Passing through the Gulf of St. Lawrence, 
he ascended the St, Lawrence River a short distance. 
To his disappointment he found no green fields and 
fertile valleys, but only a rocky, dismal land. Never- 
theless, his men disembarked from their ship, made a 
huge cross of cedar, and left it standing in the ground 
as a sign that they claimed the whole region for France. 

97 



9 8 



THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 



Cartier Carries off Two Indian Boys Indians gath- 
ered around the white-skinned strangers, eagerly watch- 
ing every movement, and listening intently to their queer- 
sounding speech. Cartier gave them presents of strings 
of glass beads and strips of bright calico. Two Indian 
boys were induced to visit the ships, and when they were 



&& ly* &j?^ 




MAP OF FRENCH EXPLORATIONS 

safe on board the cruel Frenchmen sailed away, taking 
the lads with them to France. The young Indians had 
never before seen a larger vessel than their bark canoes, 
and probably had never before sailed out of sight of 
land. Now as the land faded from sight behind them, 
and as day after day nothing could be seen but the bound- 
less ocean, we may be sure they became homesick for the 



THE RISE OF NEW FRANCE 99 

woods and rocky streams of their wild western home. 
They were treated with all kindness, however, by their 
captors. On reaching France they were taken to the 
city of Paris and w r ere presented to the king. The splen- 
did palaces and churches of the city, the silk and velvet 
robes of the king and his attendants, the miles of grain 
fields and vineyards, all filled the boys with wonder. 

Carrier's Second Visit to America.— As soon as winter 
was over Cartier started on a second voyage to explore 
the waters of the St. Lawrence and to establish a settle- 
ment. The two Indian boys — the happiest people on his 
ship — accompanied him, eager to see their friends again 
and to tell of the wonderful things they had seen. Again 
ascending the river, Cartier reached the towering cliffs 
where now stands the city of Quebec. Here he found 
a cluster of wigwams, the capital city of the Indian chief 
Donnacona. The chief received the Frenchmen kindly, 
thanking them for their kindness to his young country- 
men. After a short stay with Chief Donnacona, Cartier 
and his men pushed up the river to visit the Indian village 
of Hochelaga, of which they had heard. 

Visit to the Village of Hochelaga. — As Carrier's ships 
approached the village of Hochelaga troops of Indians 
thronged the river's bank, dancing and singing with de- 
light, and throwing gifts of fish and grain into the white 
men's boats. The Frenchmen landed, and w r ere con- 
ducted to the village. Here they received a formal wel- 
come, after which they presented gifts of hatchets and 
knives to the men and beads to the women. To the 
Indian children they threw handfuls of pewter rings and 
images, causing a wild scramble and shouts of laughter. 



IOO THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

Cartier named the mountain overlooking the village 
Mount Royal, or Montreal. To-day the great cities of 
Montreal and Quebec stand where once stood the two 
Indian villages visited by Cartier. 

Cartier 's Settlements Failures — Car tier's party spent 
the winter near the present site of Quebec. But what 
with cold weather and disease they were glad enough 
to set sail for France as soon as spring released their 
ships from the ice. Cartier, undaunted, made a third 
voyage to Amercia. His attempted settlement again 
proved a failure, and he bade farewell to New France 
forever. Wars broke out in France between the Prot- 
estants and the Roman Catholics, and it was more than 
fifty years before another attempt was made by Carrier's 
countrymen to occupy New France. 

What were French pioneers doing while Englishmen were mak- 
ing settlements along the Atlantic coast? Name the leading French 
pioneers. When did Cartier sail to America? Tell about his 
explorations; about his landing. Tell about Carrier's first meeting 
with the Indians ; about the visit of the Indian boys to France ; about 
Cartier's second voyage. Where did he disembark? Tell about his 
visit to Hochelaga. What cities have since been built at places visited 
by Cartier? How long did Cartier's settlers remain in America? 
What caused the failure of his settlement? What delayed further 
attempts at settlement by the French? 



CHAMPLAIN, THE FATHER OF NEW FRANCE 

Slow Progress of Sixty Years — Sixty years have 
passed since Jacques Cartier, sailing homeward, looked 
for the last time at the rocky shores of Newfoundland. 
Meantime Sir Walter Raleigh has been spending a for- 



THE RISE' OF NEW FRANCE 



IOI 



tune in vain efforts to establish his English colony of 
Virginia, yet, however, neither Englishmen nor French- 
men have succeeded in making a lasting settlement. 
From the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic Ocean the only 
white men are a little group of Spaniards who had made 
a settlement at St. Augustine, Florida. 

The French Make Another Effort to Form a Settle- 
ment — One spring day in the year 1604 two French ships 
approached the eastern coast 
of Nova Scotia. The leader of 
the expedition was Sieur de 
Monts, a French nobleman; 
closely associated with him was 
Samuel Champlain, a bold ex- 
plorer, who had visited Amer- 
ica several times before, and 
who during the rest of his life 
was to be the foremost man in 
the history of New France, 
The purpose of the expedition 
was to establish a settlement somewhere in the region 
Cartier had claimed for France. 

Champlain's Previous Voyages.— As Champlain knew 
the country better than his companions he was a very 
important member of the company. During his first 
voyage to America, while in the service of Spain, he had 
visited the West India Islands, Mexico, and the Isthmus 
of Panama. On this voyage the idea of a ship canal 
across the isthmus suggested itself to his mind, as a 
means "by which the voyage to the South Sea (Pacific 
Ocean) would be shortened more than fifteen hundred 




CHAMPLAIN. 



102 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

leagues." (Three hundred years later, in our own day, 
Champlain's idea was carried out by the United 
States government.) In a second voyage to America, 
Champlain ascended the St. Lawrence River beyond the 
highest point reached by Cartier, turning back when the 
rapids stopped the progress of his boat. De Monts's 
proposed expedition to found a colony attracted the ad- 
venturous Champlain to a third voyage to the Western 
world. 

The Settlement in Nova Scotia.-— After sailing around 
the southern extremity of Nova Scotia and along the 
coast of Maine in search of a good place for a settle- 
ment, the Frenchmen finally chose a beautiful harbor 
on the peninsula of Nova Scotia. Here they landed and 
made a settlement, which they named Port Royal. This 
was the first permanent French settlement in America, 
and was made in 1605 — just two years before the first 
English settlement at Jamestown. 

Quebec Founded. — Champlain went back to France, 
then returned to America. He hoped to establish a set- 
tlement on the St. Lawrence River, and to explore the 
great river to its source, believing that he would in this 
way find a western route to China. At the foot of a 
towering cliff where Jacques Cartier seventy years be- 
fore had found a flourishing Indian village Champlain 
landed and built a fort — the beginning of the city of 
Quebec (1608), a city which for more than a hundred 
years was to be the capital of New France. 

Champlain Joins an Indian War Party While at his 

fort on the St. Lawrence, Champlain was begged by 
some of the Indian tribes of Canada to join them in an 



THE RISE OF NEW FRANCE IO3 

expedition against the Iroquois, who lived in what is 
now known as New York State. Desiring to explore 
the country of the Iroquois, Champlain joined the war 
party, and all embarked in their canoes on the River 
Sorel, and began their journey southward. At last they 
reached the beautiful lake now known as Lake Cham- 
plain, named from its discoverer. The dreaded Iroquois 
were encountered on the shores of the lake. A fight 
took place in which Champlain's gun so frightened the 
enemy that they ran at his second fire. The victorious 
Indians returned to their northern homes in triumph, 
and on parting with Champlain invited him to visit their 
towns, and aid them again in their wars. 

Other Explorations of Champlain — Several times 
afterward Champlain joined expeditions of his Indian 
friends against the hated Iroquois. On one of these 
expeditions he discovered Lake Huron and Lake On- 
tario. Again visiting France, he brought back to Que- 
bec his beautiful young wife. Madame Champlain re- 
mained four years in Canada, spending most of her time 
in trying to Christianize the Indian women, and in teach- 
ing the catechism of the Church to the Indian children. 
At last, after thirty years spent in the toilsome and 
dangerous work of exploring the forests and waters of 
New France, Champlain, now an old man of sixty-eight, 
lay on his deathbed in the fort at Quebec. On Christ- 
mas Day, 1635, the father of New France breathed his 
last. But as long as the mountains look down upon 
the beautiful lake that he discovered the name of Samuel 
Champlain will be remembered. 



104 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

What was done toward founding settlements in America in the sixty 
years that followed Cartier's last voyage? Who were the leaders of 
the next attempt to form a Fiench settlement? Tell about Cham- 
plain's previous voyages. When and where did De Monts and Cham- 
plain make their settlement? Why is the Port Royal settlement 
important to remember? Tell about the founding of Quebec; the 
discovery of Lake Champlain. What other lakes did Champlain dis- 
cover? Tell about the visit of Champlain's wife to America; about 
the death of Champlain. 

THE FOUNDERS OF THE LOUISIANA TERRITORY 



LA SALLE 

Young La Salle Arrives in Canada.— Thirty years after 
the body of Champlain was buried in the frozen soil at 
Quebec, Robert Cavalier de la Salle, a young French- 
man twenty-three years old, 
came to Canada and estab- 
lished a trading post a few 
miles above Montreal. Sev- 
eral years later he moved to 
the northern shore of Lake 
^^^M Ontario, where he built a fort 

called Fort Frontenac, for 
the French governor of Can- 
ada. As commander of Fort 
Frontenac, La Salle ruled 
with iron firmness his little 
la salle. empire, including soldiers, 

traders, missionaries, adventurers, and Indians. Al- 
though fast growing rich from the profits of his fur 
trade, he was not contented. He longed to explore the 
western watercourses, to find a passage to India, and to 




THE RISE OF NEW FRANCE 105 

plant the banner of France still farther out in the un- 
known wilderness. 
La Salle Hears of Father Marquette's Discoveries 

While La Salle was still at Fort Frontenac news of 
the discoveries of Father Marquette came to his ears. 
Father Marquette was a French missionary, who with a 
few companions pushed his way along the Great Lakes 
in search of a great river of which the Indians had told 
him. From Green Bay, in the western part of Lake 
Michigan, Father Marquette's party ascended the Fox 
River to its source. Then, following an Indian guide 
and carrying their canoes, they traveled through the 
w r oods to the Wisconsin River. Floating down the Wis- 
consin, to their joy they at last came to the great river. 
They sailed down the broad Mississippi, passing the 
mouths of the Missouri and the Ohio. When they had 
gone as far as the mouth of the Arkansas, fearing hostile 
Indians, they turned back and reached Lake Michigan by 
the way of the Illinois River. Worn out by hardships 
of his long journey, Father Marquette died on the shore 
of Lake Superior, where the town of Marquette now 
stands. (See map, page 98.) 

La Salle Sails Down the Mississippi to Its Mouth. — La 

Salle now resolved to complete the work of Father Mar- 
quette, and to follow the unknown Mississippi to its 
mouth. With a party of Frenchmen and Indians he 
sailed through Lake Ontario crossed overland to Lake 
Huron, through which he also sailed and arrived at 
the southern end of Lake Michigan. In his efforts to 
pass from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi he met with 
disasters that would have conquered a less heroic 



106 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

spirit. His ship of supplies from Canada failed to ar- 
rive, and he traveled back on foot a thousand miles 
through the icy woods to learn the cause of the delay. 
He returned to his task of finding a way to the Mis- 
sissippi. At one time his little company was almost 
starved when they came upon a buffalo stuck fast in the 
mud. They killed him and soon had plenty of buffalo 
meat to eat. At last La Salle ascended the Chicago 
River, and traversed the few miles of wilderness between 
that stream and the Illinois. Then he embarked on the 
Illinois, and floated down to the Mississippi. He contin- 
ued his journey down the great Father of Waters till 
he reached its mouth (in April, 1682). 

The Mississippi Valley Claimed for France. — La Salle 
named all the country drained by the Mississippi, Lou- 
isiana, in honor of King Louis of France. A short dis- 
tance above the mouth of the river he set up a column and 
a cross. Hymns were sung by the joyous Frenchmen, 
guns were fired, and La Salle in a loud voice proclaimed, 
"In the name of Louis the Great, King of France, I do 
take possession of this country of Louisiana, the seas, 
harbors, forts, bays, straits, and all the natives, peoples, 
cities, towns, mines, fisheries, streams, and rivers along 
the Mississippi and the rivers which discharge into it." 

La Salle Attempts to Plant a Colony at the Mouth of the 
Mississippi — La Salle and his party were the first white 
men to travel from the upper part of the great river to its 
mouth. Turning their boats up the stream, they made 
their way back to Canada. La Salle then returned to 
France and reported his discoveries to the king. King 
Louis was so well pleased that he gave the bold explorer 



THE RISE OF NEW FRANCE 



107 



four ships and plentiful supplies to found a colony at the 
mouth of the Mississippi. The expedition sailed by the 
way of Florida and the Gulf of Mexico. They missed 
the mouth of the Mississippi, however, and, going too 
far west, landed on the shores of Texas at Matagorda 
Bay (1685). 




LA SALLE CLAIMING LOUISIANA FOR FRANCE. 



Death of La Salle.— La Salle built a fort on the Texas 
coast. Leaving part of his company at the fort, he set 
out with a few companions on the long overland journey 
to Canada to get help. La Salle was hated by some of 



108 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

his followers on account of his stern rule. When the 
party had passed the Trinity River these discontented 
men quarreled with the nephew of La Salle and killed 
him. Then, to save themselves, they resolved to kill 
their leader. A shot from a traitor hiding in the tall 




LA SALLE LANDING ON THE TEXAS COAST. 

grass pierced the heart of the heroic La Salle. In the 
forests of eastern Texas a faithful priest buried the body 
of the iron-hearted Frenchman who had done more than 
any other to extend the limits of French dominion in the 
West. 

Results of La Salle's Work.--La Salle had explored 



THE RISE OF NEW FRANCE 109 

the unknown Mississippi to its mouth ; he had claimed for 
France the immense region drained by the stream and its 
branches ; and he had given to this magnificent territory 
the name (Louisiana) which part of it still bears — a 
name that will always remind us of La Salle. But the 
effort of the great French explorer to hold the country 
for his king by making a settlement at the southern gate- 
way of Louisiana had failed. 

Who was La Salle? What did he do on his arrival in America? 
Where did he afterward build a fort? Tell about his rule of Fort 
Frontenac. What did La Salle hope to do? Tell about Father Mar- 
quette's explorations ; the effect of the news upon La Salle. Tell about 
La Salle's great exploration; about the claim he made for France; 
the name he gave the country. Where did La Salle then go? Tell 
about his expedition; about his death. What did La Salle accom- 
plish ? What part of his plan failed ? 

THE FOUNDERS OF THE LOUISIANA TERRITORY 
THE LE MOYNE BROTHERS 

The Family of Le Moyne — During the first years of 
young La Salle's stay in Canada he made frequent trips 
from his trading post on the St Lawrence River to the 
near-by town of Montreal to buy ammunition and sup- 
plies and to dispose of the furs which he obtained from the 
Indians. On these visits La Salle may have seen, play- 
ing in the streets of Montreal or setting their traps in the 
woods outside the settlement, a group of Canadian boys, 
brothers, members of the Le Moyne family. There were 
twelve sons in this family of Le Moyne. Two of the 
boys were destined when they grew to manhood to carry 
out La Salle's plan of settlement in Louisiana, and to 
have their names associated in history with his as found- 



HO THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 




LE MOYNE D IBERVILLE. 



ers of the great French province in the Southwest. These 

two brothers are best known 
not by the family name of Le 
Moyne but by the surnames 
their father gave them — Iber- 
ville and Bienville. The ex- 
plorations and settlements 
about which we have been 
studying heretofore were 
made by natives of Spain, 



England, or France. Iber- 
ville and Bienville were born 
on American soil, and are 
among our first native Ameri- 
can explorers and colonizers. 
Iberville and His Expedition to Louisiana. — The boy 
Iberville was fond of adventure. When fourteen years 
of age he joined the French navy. He was rapidly pro- 
moted until, while yet a young man, he became captain of 
a war vessel. In his ship, the Pelican, he struck terror 
into the hearts of the enemies of France, sinking British 
ships on Hudson Bay and the neighboring waters, and 
capturing British forts in the St. Lawrence Valley. His 
successes made him the leading naval officer of France 
and the "idol of his countrymen." When the French- 
king decided that La Salle's attempt to colonize Loui- 
siana should be renewed, Iberville was placed in com- 
mand of the expedition. Accompanied by his brother, 
Bienville, Iberville sailed from France with four ships 
and two hundred colonists. 






THE RISE OF NEW FRANCE III 

Iberville Explores the Gulf Coast — As Iberville's ships, 
leaving the French harbor of Rochelle, disappeared in the 
west the older citizens of the town doubtless remembered 
that just fourteen years before Iberville's departure La 
Salle had sailed on his last voyage from this same harbor 
and with the same purpose in view. No doubt the recol- 
lection of the former disastrous expedition caused many 
gloomy shakings of the head and whispered prophecies of 
misfortune from the crowd of idlers who watched the 
sailing of Iberville's ships. But the little fleet crossed 
the ocean in safety. Entering the Gulf of Mexico, Iber- 
ville examined the coast carefully as he proceeded, de- 
termined to avoid La Salle's mistake. He steered into 
the bay of Pensacola, Florida, but at the mouth of the 
harbor he unexpectedly encountered two Spanish war- 
ships, protected by a Spanish fort on the mainland. The 
Spaniards pointed their guns at the approaching fleet 
and politely insisted that the Frenchmen "move on." As 
Iberville was not ready for a fight he followed the sug- 
gestion. Coasting westward, his ships passed the en- 
trance to Mobile Bay (Alabama), and came to a small 
harbor in the present State of Mississippi. The harbor 
was explored and named Biloxi Bay, from the Biloxi 
Indians, a neighboring friendly tribe. 

Iberville Enters the Mouth of the Mississippi River — 
Continuing their westward course Iberville's men 
reached the mouth of the Mississippi and began to ascend 
the stream, uncertain, however, whether the river was 
actually the Mississippi or not. The Indian tribes on the 
banks of the river were friendly. They gave the French- 



112: THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

men some chickens, which they said they had obtained 
from tribes in the west (probably originally from the 
Spanish settlers in Mexico). In the possession of these 
Indians Iberville found a suit of Spanish armor which 
probably had belonged to one of De Soto's men. But 
what gave greatest joy to the Frenchmen was a letter 
which an Indian chief showed to Iberville. This letter 
was addressed to La Salle, and was written by Tonty, a 
former companion of La Salle. Tonty had descended 
the Mississippi from Illinois in search of his friend, and 
when unable to find him had left the letter with an Indian 
chief, to be delivered to La Salle if he should ever come 
that way. The letter proved to Iberville that he was sail- 
ing on the Mississippi River. 

The Frenchmen Encounter an English Ship -While a 

few of Iberville's men, under his brother, Bienville, were 
returning to the mouth of the Mississippi in a rowboat 
they encountered an English ship entering the river. 
The English vessel was commanded by a Captain Barr, 
and bore a colony of French Huguenots who had been ex- 
pelled from France on account of their religion, and who 
were now sent by an English company to found a set- 
tlement under the English flag on the banks of the 
Mississippi River. Captain Barr stopped Bienville and 
questioned him about the river which he had entered. 
Bienville assured him that this stream was already occu- 
pied by the French, and advised him to search farther 
west for the Mississippi River. Accordingly the English 
captain turned his ship and, to the great joy of Bienville, 
sailed out into the Gulf. The place where Captain Barr 
turned his ,ship is still known as the "English Turn/' 



THE RISE OF NEW FRANCE 



"3 




FIRST SETTLEMENTS IN LOUISIANA. 



First Settlements in Mississippi and Alabama — After 
several months' exploration of the river, Iberville re- 
turned to Biloxi Bay, where he established a settlement 
(1699). The 
French claimed, as 
part of Louisiana, 
the Gulf coast 
country as far east 
as Florida. Their 
settlements at Bil- 
oxi was the first 
capital of Louis- 
iana. 

On one of his exploring expeditions Iberville reached a 
high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi in the coun- 
try of the Natchez Indians. The place seemed so beau- 
tiful that he declared the capital of Louisiana ought to 
be placed here. On this bluff Bienville afterward built 
a fort which was the beginning of the city of Natchez, 
Mississippi. 

The capital of Louisiana remained at Biloxi a few 
years. It was afterward removed to a place near where 
the city of Mobile now stands. Mobile was the first 
white settlement in the present State of Alabama. 

Death of Iberville — Iberville explored the lower Mis- 
sissippi, built a fort near the mouth of the river, and es- 
tablished settlements on the Gulf coast. Meanwhile he 
made several voyages to France, returning each time with 
colonists and supplies. On one of these voyages he was 
taken ill with yellow fever contracted during a short stay 
in the West Indies, and died on board his ship. His 



114 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 



body was taken to Havana, Cuba. There in the Church 
of St. Christopher, where the remains of Columbus 
rested for a time, the great French- American explorer 
was buried. 

The Founding of New Orleans — After Iberville's death 

his brother Bienville was ap- 
pointed governor of Louisiana. 
Governor Bienville determined 
to remove his capital to the 
banks of the Mississippi, 
place he selected was about one 
hundred miles from the mouth 
of the river, where the stream 
makes a great bend shaped like 
the new moon. Here, in 171 8, 
Bienville laid the foundations 
of a city which was named New 
Orleans, in honor of the French 
prince, the Duke of Orleans. The city is also known as 
the "Crescent City/' from the shape of the bend in the 
river. 

The V Cassette' ' Girls — It was discovered that in 
Louisiana, as in the colony of Virginia before, there were 
too many roving, discontented bachelors. Wives were 
needed to make happy homes for the settlers. Accord- 
ingly, several shiploads of girls were brought from 
France, and the Louisiana priests were kept busy for a 
time performing marriage ceremonies. The maidens in 
one of these companies are known as the "cassette girls/ 
because on their departure from France, each girl was 
presented with a trousseau in a trunk, or cassette. 




LE MOYNE DE BIENVILLE. 



THE RISE OF NEW FRANCE 1 1 5 

hat all the "cassette girls" were married in less than 
th save one. The hand of this coy maiden was 
in vain. Her Louisiana suitors did not please 
her, and she would have no man in the colony. 

Tba Louisiana Mosquitoes. — Hostile Indians were not 
the only foes that caused trouble to the colonists. One 
of the settlers, writing about the hardships of the new 
countiy said: 'The greatest torment — in comparison 
with v hich all the rest would be but sport, which passes 
all belief and has never been even imagined in France, 
still le;s actually experienced — is that of mosquitoes, the 
cruel persecution of mosquitoes. The plagues of Egypt, 
I think, were not more cruel. This little insect has 
cause more swearing since the French have been in 
Lou ana than had previously taken place in the rest 
of t world." 

quest of the Mosquitoes. — If the French settler 
whc letter has been quoted could revisit the scene of 
his rdships, he would find that both mosquitoes and 
s have ceased to be troublesome in the fair land 
lisiana. Under direction of skilled physicians the 
State Health Department has enforced modern scien- 
tific r ethods of sanitation and drainage with the result 
that t e mosquitoes have been driven out. Yellow fever, 
once creaded throughout the South as one of the dead- 
est scourges, is now unknown, while malaria, typhoid 
id other preventable diseases are being gradually 
ninated. The application of modern science has made 
the h<- alth conditions of Louisiana among the best. 
Grc vth of New Orleans. — The new capital was favor 
i >cated for trade, but at first its growth was slow. 



Il6 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

At the time that Louisiana became a part of the United 
States^ — nearly one hundred years after the founding 
of New Orleans — the city contained eight thousand in- 
habitants. The invention of the cotton gin and the 
steamboat gave a wonderful increase to the trade and 
population of the place. It is now the largest city in the 
Southern States and one of the greatest cotton markets 
in the world. A large number of the citizens of New 
Orleans are descendants of the old French families of 
Bienville's time, while the names of many of her streets 
and many customs of her people are inherited from 
France. 

Death of Bienville — Bienville lived forty-three busy 
years in Louisiana, and was three times governor of the 
province. His last days were spent in France, but he 
never ceased to look upon Louisiana as his child. A 
short while before his death the news reached America 
that the King of France had given to Spain what was 
left to him of Louisiana (the English had taken in war 
the eastern half of the province — see page 154). The 
Louisianans held a great meeting in New Orleans and 
sent one of their number to France to beg the king not 
to give up his loyal subjects, but to take back his prov- 
ince. Bienville, an old man of eighty-seven, was then 
living in Paris. He accompanied the representative of 
Louisiana to the French court, and with tears joined in 
the prayer that Louisiana be not given up. But the re- 
quest w r as refused. When the old man realized that his 
beloved Louisiana had passed from the ownership of 
France his heart seemed to break and he died a few 
months later. Louisiana remained a Spanish possession 






THE RISE OF NEW FRANCE 



117 



for thirty-five years. Then it was given back to France 
( 1800), and three years later became a part of the United 
States — see page 204. 

French Territory in America — Through the work of 
Cartier, Champlain, La Salle, Iberville, and Bienville 
France came into the possession of the heart of the North 




FRENCH TERRITORY 
IN AMERICA, I75O. 



American continent — a great wedge-shaped region ex- 
tending between the Rocky Mountains and the Alleghe- 
nies from the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes on 
the north to the Gulf of Mexico on the south. At one 
end of this territory were the French towns of Port 
Royal, Quebec, and Montreal; at the other were New 
Orleans, Biloxi, and Mobile. A long line of widely sepa- 
rated forts connected these distant settlements. 

Where was La Salle stationed when he first came to Canada? Tell 
about his visits to Montreal; the Le Moyne family; the two most 
famous members of this family. Tell of Iberville's early life ; his 
success as a naval officer; the expedition to America under his com- 



Il8 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

mand. From what harbor did this expedition sail? Compare Iber- 
ville's expedition with La Salle's. What occurred when Iberville 
reached Pensacola, Fla. ? What bay did he enter and name? Tell 
of his entrance upon the Mississippi and his experiences with the 
Indians. Give an account of the meeting of Bienville and Captain 
Barr. Where did Iberville establish the first capital of Louisiana? 
When? Tell of the beginning of Natchez, Miss.; of the removal of 
the capital from Biloxi ; the death of Iberville ; his burial place. What 
had he accomplished in Louisiana? Who was the founder of New 
Orleans? What can you say of the location of the city? origin of 
its name ? Tell of the bringing of young women from France ; of 
the suffering of the colonists from mosquitoes; the growth of New 
Orleans. Can you mention any French names or French customs in 
New Orleans to-day? To what nations did France give up Louisi- 
ana ?• Describe Bienville's attempt to prevent the last transfer. Give 
the extent of American territory acquired for France; the names of 
her great explorers. 






CHAPTER VII 

Pictures of Life in the Colonies 
General View of the Colonies 

Three Hundred Years Ago — If some fairy by waving a 
magic wand could show us our country as it appeared 
about three hundred years ago, what changes would she 
have to make! All of our towns and cities, railroads, 
telegraph and telephone lines, wagon roads, bridges, 
churches, schools, farmhouses, fields of cotton and of 
grain would disappear. In their stead would be one 
great stretch of forest and prairie, inhabited by wan- 
dering Indians and wild animals. For, you. must re- 
member, it was about three hundred years ago that 
Jamestown was founded. The only white settlers then 
in all of North America besides the little group of Eng- 
lishmen on the banks of the James River, in Virginia, 
were a few Spaniards at the town of St. Augustine, in 
Florida, other Spaniards at scattered settlements in 
Mexico, and some Frenchmen just arrived at the mouth 
of the St. Lawrence. No one knew how far westward 
from the Atlantic coast the North American continent 
extended. Many believed that some strait or water pas- 
sage could be found . connecting the Atlantic with the 
Pacific. 

One Hundred and Fifty Years Ago.— Let us suppose 
our fairy by another wave of her magic wand could carry 

119 



120 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

us forward to a time halfway between the founding of 
Jamestown and the present day. One hundred and fifty 
years have passed since our first picture. During this 
time many changes have taken place. Of the three na- 
tions who first sent colonists to this country, one, the 
Spanish, has not extended its settlements, but is still 
confined to Florida and Mexico. The French have 
pushed up the St. Lawrence River, through the Great 
Lakes, and down the Mississippi to its mouth, founding 
few settlements, but establishing many forts and trading 
posts, making friends with the Indians, and claiming the 
country for their king. But the people who have in- 
creased most in numbers and have taken the firmest hold 
upon America are the English. Instead of one strug- 
gling settlement on the banks of the James, there are 
now thirteen English colonies, bordering the Atlantic 
coast from New Hampshire to Georgia. These thirteen 
English colonies were the beginning of our great and 
powerful country, the United States. We shall now 
study something of the manners and customs of the set- 
tlers and try to find out what sort of people our colonial 
forefathers were in their everyday life. 

The English Colonies.-— The thirteen English colonies 
have been studied by you in three groups: (i) The 
Southern colonies, including Virginia and her neighbors, 
Maryland, North and South Carolina, and Georgia; (2) 
the Northern, or New England, colonies, including Mas- 
sachusetts and her neighbors, Connecticut, Rhode Is- 
land, and New Hampshire; (3) the Middle colonies, in- 
cluding Pennsylvania and her neighbors, New York, 
New Jersey, and Delaware. 



PICTURES OF LIFE IN THE COLONIES 



121 



These colonies lay along the Atlantic coast from Mas- 
sachusetts (which then included the present State of 
Maine) on the 
north to Geor- 
gia on the south. 
The Allegheny 
Mountains 
marked the 
western limit of 
the white settle- 
ments, although 
the whole re- 
gion as far west 
as the Missis- 
sippi River was 
claimed by sev- 
eral colonies. 
The oldest col- 
ony, and also the 
largest, was Virginia. Next in age to Virginia came the 
New England colony of Massachusetts, then the Middle 
colony of New York ; Georgia was the youngest colony. 
The baby sisters in size then, as now, were Rhode Island 
and Delaware. 

Differences in Language and Customs — While the peo- 
ple of the thirteen colonies were chiefly English, yet there 
were among them many settlers from other nations. In 
New York the Dutch were numerous ; in New Jersey and 
Delaware, Swedes; in Pennsylvania and Georgia, Ger- 
mans ; in South Carolina, French. These people gradu- 
ally learned the English language, and in time all be- 




MAP OF THE COLONIES. 



122 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

came Americans. Yet for a long while they kept up 
many of the customs of their old homes, and thus caused 
differences between the colonies. 

Difference in Religion — In those days religious belief 
made a much greater, difference between people than it 
does now. We have seen that the English colonists were 
not all of the same religion. In New England most of 
the people were Puritans, or Separatists ; in the Southern 
colonies members of the Church of England, or Epis- 
copal Church, were numerous. Pennsylvania was the 
home of Quakers, and Maryland of Roman Catholics. 
While Roger Williams in Rhode Island, Lord Baltimore 
in Maryland, and William Penn in Pennsylvania tried 
to provide fair treatment for those of different religious 
views, yet in most of the colonies those denominations not 
in power were oppressed by harsh laws. Thus the re- 
ligious beliefs of the settlers caused the colonies to differ. 

Difference in Occupation — The people of the Southern 
colonies were chiefly farmers. Most of the farms 
covered hundreds of acres, and these large farms were 
called plantations. The chief crops were tobacco (in 
Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina) and rice and 
indigo (in South Carolina and Georgia). Very little 
cotton was then raised. There were few towns in the 
Southern colonies. The homes of the planters were on 
the banks of deep rivers, so that when cloth, tools, and 
such things as the colonists themselves could not make 
were needed, these goods could be bought from English 
ships that landed almost at their doors. For this reason 
there were scarcely any stores in the South. In the New 
England colonies the soil was not rich as in the South, 



PICTURES OF LIFE IN THE COLONIES 123 

and farming did not pay. Small patches of ground were 
cultivated, but the people made their living chiefly by 
fishing and trading. So there were many towns and vil- 
lages and no large plantations. In the Middle colonies, 
as in the South, farming w r as a favorite occupation. 
Wheat, oats and rye were the usual crops. 

Tell something about the appearance of our country when James- 
town was founded, three hundred years ago. What changes had taken 
place one hundred and fifty years later — halfway between the founding 
of Jamestown and to-day? What can you say of the progress of 
English settlements ? Name the colonies included in each of the three 
groups we have studied. What were the boundaries of the colonies, 
taken as a whole? Which was the oldest colony? the youngest? the 
largest? the smallest? Tell about the different languages and cus- 
toms among the colonists ; the difference in religion ; in occupations. 

STORY OF A NEW ENGLAND BOY 

Let us picture in our minds the home life of a New 
England boy of colonial times. 

The Early Morning. — It was hardly daylight one cold 
December morning when twelve-year-old Josiah Quincy 
was awakened by his mother 
calling to him and to his 
brother Ezekiel that it was 
time to get up. The boys 
hurried into their clothes, 
their teeth chattering in the 
cold, and hastened downstairs 
to do their share of the morn- FLINT AND STEEL - 

ing's work. There were no stoves in those days. The 
cooking was done in the great kitchen fireplace, which 
was high enough for a man to stand in without stooping, 
and big enough to hold nearly a wagonload of wood. 




124 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 




-x 



NEW ENGLAND KITCHEN OF EARLY TIMES. 



The father had already scraped away the ashes which he 
had placed over the burning logs the night before. As 
matches were unknown the fire was not allowed to die 
out, but at night the coals were carefully covered with 
ashes. If by mischance there were no coals, fire was 
kindled by striking a piece of steel against a flint rock 
until the sparks came and were caught in dry shavings 
or scorched linen cloth. 

Occupation before Breakfast — As the boys stood be- 
fore the fire rubbing their cold hands the mother busied 
herself preparing to cook mush in one of the pots that 
hung from an iron hook over the fire, and to roast in the 
hot ashes the potatoes and dried herring-fish which the 



PICTURES OF LIFE IN THE COLONIES 



125 



father had just brought up from the cellar. The cellar 
was a large, dark room dug under the house, in which 
were stored heaps of potatoes, turnips, and apples, and 
other articles of food for winter use. Ezekiel, happen- 
ing to glance toward the window, suddenly called out, 
"Look, it is snowing again." Both boys ran toward the 
window and climbed into a chair (for the window sill was 
higher than their heads). They peered through the lit- 
tle panes of coarse green glass at the snowflakes that fell 
noiselessly against the window. Their older sister, Com- 
fort, called them to come with 
her to help milk the cows; and 
buttoning up their coats tight 
under their chins, and pulling 
their hats down over their ears, 
the boys, each with a bucket un- 
der his arm, scampered through 
the snow ahead of their sister. 
After the milking Josiah drew 
some water from the well with a 
bucket hung from a long pole called a well sweep, w T hile 
Ezekiel carried a bucketful into the house for his mother. 

Queer Names. — You must have noticed what queer 
names the New England boys and girls of that time had. 
The father and mother of Josiah and Ezekiel were 
known as Goodman and Goodwife Quincy. Besides 
their older sister, Comfort, there were the eight-year-old 
sister, Deliverance, and little Thankful, the baby. Their 
mother's given name was Seaborn, because she was born 
on the ship that brought her parents from England. 

Duties of the Household — Breakfast over, the boys 




OLD WELL SWEEP. 



126 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 



drove the cows to the "common," a large open field used 
by all the townspeople as a pasture. Then they got ready 
for school. Meanwhile the mother and sisters were not 
idle. Goodwife Quincy prepared to make soap in one of 
the huge kettles in the fireplace, while Comfort with the 
big spinning wheel spun into thread for cloth some wool 
which her father had sheared from the sheep. When the 
cloth was made, or woven, it w 7 as cut out and stitched into 
warm clothes. The sewing was done with the fingers, 
for there were no sewing-machines in those days. Lit- 
tle Deliverance, after sweeping the room, seated herself 
by the baby's cradle, w r ith her knitting in her lap; for 
although only eight years old, she was a good knitter and 
had already made a pair of big stockings for each of her 
brothers. 

His School. — The school which Josiah and Ezekiel at- 
tended was taught by a man two months in the winter. 
Only boys attended the winter school. In the summer 

came the girl's time. 
Then a lady teacher 
was employed, and a 
school for girls and 
little boys was held for 
two months. The sal- 
ary of the teachers was 
small, yet they did not 
have to pay anything for board. The teacher lived in 
turn at the homes of his pupils, staying longest with 
those families that had most children in school. Good- 
man and Goodwife Quincy always welcomed the teacher, 
and gave him the best food on the table and the warmest 




COLONIAL FURNITURE. 






PICTURES OF LIFE IN THE COLONIES 



127 



place by the fire. On the long winter evenings he 
helped the boys with their lessons and sometimes held 
the yarn for Comfort as she spun, or sometimes he es- 
corted her to spinning matches or to quilting parties. 
Dancing parties and theaters were strictly forbidden. 
When Josiah and Ezekiel are older they will be sent to 
Harvard College, which was situated three miles from 
Boston and was the oldest college in all the colonies. 
Girls were not admitted to any college. 

The Schoolhouse and Schoolbooks — The schoolhouse 
was made of rough boards, and contained one room with 
a great fireplace in Rfe that lie ef learns hiS A, B 8 C, 
one end. The seats For ever will a Blockhead be : 
were benches with no 
backs, and so high 
that the feet of the 
smaller boys could not 
touch the floor. For a 
desk a wide plank, or 
shelf, projecting from 
the wall was used. 
Blackboards and maps 
were unknown. The 
books studied were the 
Horn Book, the New 
England Primer, the 
Catechism, and the 
Bible. The Horn book 

was a sheet of paste- 
ls , i-i PAGE FROM NEW ENGLAND PRIMER. 

board on which were 

written the letters of the alphabet and as many easy 




128 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 



words as could be crowded upon it. This pasteboard 
was set in a frame like a slate, and both sides covered 
with thin sheets of horn, through which the letters could 
be seen, and which kept them from being soiled by the 
pupils' fingers. There were no copy-books and arith- 
metics, but the teacher taught his pupils to write and 
"cipher" without a book. 

Saturday's Work and Play — Saturday then, as now, 
was holiday. Sometimes Josiah and Ezekiel were kept 
busy all day Saturday helping to churn or to dig pota- 
toes or to make candles (for there were no lamps in those 
days, and gas and electric lights had not been dreamed 
of). "Dip" candles were made by dipping a wick into 
melted tallow, then cooling it and dipping it again until 

enough tallow stuck to 
the wick. "Mold" can- 
dles were made by pour- 
ing the melted tallow into 
hollow tin tubes the size 
of candles. But the bovs 
often had most of Satur- 
day to themselves. Then 
thev were off to the woods 
to set traps for rabbits or 
foxes, or with other boys they slid down the snowy hill- 
sides on their homemade sleds, or skated on the ice of 
the brook. A favorite game was playing soldier. One 
of the boys was chosen captain ; then arming themselves 
with sticks for guns, they marched or halted at the cap- 
tain's order, or charged upon make-believe Indians, con- 
cealed behind piles of brush. 




CAXDLE MOLDS, CANDLE, AND 
CANDLESTICK. 



PICTURES OF LIFE IN THE COLONIES 1 29 

The Books in His Home. — Books for children's reading 
were not made in those days. Indeed, books of any 
kind were scarce and costly. On the bookshelf in 
Josiah's home, however, were eight or ten books. Here 
are the names of some of them : The Lives of the Mar- 
tyrs, The Dreadful Effects of Popery, The Law of Na- 
tions, The Improvement of the Mind. Not very interest- 
ing to a boy do these sound. But there were two other 
books which Josiah and Ezekiel had read so often that the 
covers were getting worn and the binding loose. On the 
long winter evenings when there were no lessons to be 
studied the boys loved to stretch themselves on the floor 
in front of the fire, and by the light of the blazing logs 
bury themselves in the delightful pages of Pilgrim s 
Progress and Robinson Crusoe. And then on one end of 
the bookshelf was a pile of "almanacs," one for each 
year for the last twenty years. These "almanacs" con- 
tained scraps of history, poetry, anecdotes, and jokes, 
and they were full of interest to every member of the 
family able to read. 

His Sabbath — On Saturday evening the family began 
to get ready for Sunday. After sunset on Saturday no 
games were allowed, nor could Robinson Crusoe or the 
almanacs be read. Before the evening prayer was of- 
fered the father called all the larger children around him 
and had them repeat the catechism and some of the 
hymns or psalms they had already committed to memory. 

Sunday morning found our two boys at church dressed 
in brand new suits made by their mother and older sister. 
There was a large congregation, for the law was that 
any one staying away from church save for sickness or 



I30 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

some equally good excuse might be arrested and made to 
pay a fine or be put in the stocks. As Goodman Quincy 
was a church officer he took his seat near the pulpit. His 
wife sat on the side of the church reserved for women. 
Josiah and Ezekiel took their places with the children be- 
hind the grown people. There was no organ and no 
choir. A man, called the clerk, stood up in front of the 




STOCKS. 



pulpit and read out one line of the hymn at a time ; then 
all the people sang it. On the pulpit beside the Bible wai 
an hourglass, which looked like two little glass funnels 
joined together at the small ends and with the large ends 
closed. One-half of the hourglass was filled with sand, 
and in just one hour all the sand ran down from the 



PICTURES OF LIFE IN THE COLONIES 131 

Upper half into the lower half of the glass. Then the 
preacher turned the hourglass over, and in another hour 
the sand ran back. As there were no watches in those 
days hourglasses were often used to measure time. As 
the minister began his sermon the boys listened carefully 
for the text and repeated it over and over to themselves, 
for they knew their father would expect them to say it 
when they reached home. After the text it was hard to 
keep awake, for much of the sermon could not be under- 
stood by children. The minister had turned the hour- 
glass the second time, and Ezekiel's eyes were half- 
closed, when the words "roaring lion," uttered by the 
preacher as he brought his fist down on the pulpit with a 
bang, caused the boy to start. He leaned over to Josiah 
and proposed to him in a whisper that they go into the 
woods the first thing next day and look at their new fox 
trap. Before Josiah could answer both boys felt a sharp 
tap on the back of their heads. The "tithing man," 
whose duty it was to keep the children quiet and the 
grown people awake, had with his long rod, tipped with 
a rabbit's foot, rapped the heads of the whisperers. You 
may be sure they sat up straight during the rest of the 
sermon. 

His Day in Boston — Sometimes Goodman Quincy had 
to go to Boston on business, and usually one of the boys 
was allowed to accompany him. As it was a fifteen-mile 
ride old Sol was saddled and bridled early in the morning. 
Josiah climbed up behind his father. Ezekiel stayed at 
home this time, as he went with his father last month. 
When they reached town the horse was hitched to one 
of the racks on the common, and Josiah's father hurried 



132 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

off to transact his business. Meanwhile Josiah wan- 
dered down to the wharves to see the ships. There were 
whaling vessels from the northern seas, with cargoes of 
whale oil and whalebone. Hundreds of small fishing 
vessels from the coasts near by were unloading great 
quantities of fresh fish. A schooner from the West In- 
dies was bringing in barrels of molasses, which was made 
by the New Englanders into a cheap liquor, called rum. 
A ship from England was unloading a cargo of cloth, 
knives, tableware, and other things the colonists were not 
allowed to make themselves. There was a ship just get- 
ting ready to leave for England. She was loaded with 
great pine logs which were to be made into masts for 
ships. Barrels of salted fish were being loaded on other 
vessels soon to sail to the West Indies. There was a 
large new ship which Josiah examined with great curi- 
osity, for some one had told him it was a "slaver," and 
was to sail to Africa in a few days. Just then it was be- 
ing loaded with casks of rum. This rum would be given 
to African chiefs in exchange for negro men, women, and 
children captured by them. The captive negroes would 
be stowed away on the "slaver" and taken to the South- 
ern colonies, where they would be sold as slaves to work 
the tobacco, rice, and indigo plantations. While Josiah 
was looking at the ship the governor's carriage hurried 
by, driven by a negro slave. But there were net many 
slaves in New England. The climate was too cold for 
them, and they were best suited for farm work on large 
plantations. 

Thus working, playing, going to school, and attending 
church, the New England boys and girls grew up to be 






PICTURES OF LIFE IN THE COLONIES 1 33 

industrious, intelligent, churchgoing men and women, 
who did their share in making our country the powerful 
nation it is to-day. 

How old was the New England boy in our story? Tell what took 
place before breakfast in Josiah's home. What queer names were 
found? After breakfast what were the boys' duties? the mother's? 
the older sister's? the younger sister's? Tell about the school the 
boys attended ; the teacher ; the schoolhouse ; the books studied. What 
work did the boys sometimes do on Saturday? How did they spend 
their holidays ? What books were found in their home ? Tell about 
the preparation for Sunday. What was the law about churchgoing? 
How were the members of Josiah's family seated in church? Tell 
about the singing; the hourglass. What were the children required 
to remember? Tell about the tap on the head Josiah received in 
church ; about his visit to Boston, and what he saw. 

THE STORY OF A SOUTHERN BOY 

Let us now take a look at the home life of a Southern 
boy and girl in the old colonial times. 

Saturday Morning — In our minds we can picture a 
white boy, accompanied by a negro companion, wander- 
ing through the woods near the banks of the Rappahan- 
nock River, in the colony of Virginia. The white boy 
carried a gun upon his shoulder, and his hunting suit of 
coarse, strong cloth was discolored from frequent use. 
The negro boy who addressed his companion as "Mars' 
George," carried a game bag well stocked with squirrels 
and partridges. He was barefooted, and his trousers 
and shirt showed several patches of different colors. His 
kinky hair could be seen through the holes in the crown 
of the old hat that came down over his ears. A fine set- 
ter dog ran through the woods to right and left, just 
ahead of the young hunters. 



134 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

His Father's Tobacco Field. — Coming to the edge of 
the woods, George and black Jasper made their way- 
through a great tobacco field in which twenty or thirty 
negro men and women were at work cutting the long- 
leaved plants and placing them in the wagons which 
were to carry them to the great tobacco barns in the 
distance. A white man, called an "overseer," rode 
about among the negroes, directing them in their 
work. They did not seem to mind the hard work nor 
the hot sun, but were laughing and singing at the top 
of their voices. Their songs had strange tunes. Some- 
times there were no words, only musical sounds, and 
sometimes they made up the words as they sang. 
Here is one verse of a song the negroes often sang: 

"O, whar shall we go w'en de great day comes » 

Wid de blowin' er de trumpits en de bangin' er de drums? 
How many po' sinners'll be kotched out late, 
En fin' no latch ter de golden gate? 
No use fer ter wait till ter-morrer! 
De sun mustn't set on yo' sorrer ! 
Sin's ez sharp ez a bamboo brier, 
O Lord, fotch de mo'ners up higher!" 

His Home. — As the boys neared the house a negro 
came out to the end of the long porch toward the 
tobacco field, and blew a blast from a great tin horn. 
This meant twelve o'clock, and was a signal for 
the field hands to stop work for dinner. George 
handed his gun to Jasper, and, bidding him take the 
game around the house to the kitchen and prepare 
it to be cooked for supper, ran up to his room to 
change his soiled hunting suit and bathe his face and 
hands before coming down to dinner. 



PICTURES OF LIFE IN THE COLONIES 



!35 



While George is getting ready for dinner let us take 
a look at his home. A grassy lawn dotted with stately 
trees stretched away in front of the house toward the 
river, which sparkled in the sunlight just beyond the "big 
road." The house was two stories high with a broad 
front porch extending the width of the house, supported 
by massive columns. Behind the house, in the distance, 
were the stables and barns, and long rows of cabins, 




SOUTHERN COLONIAL HOME — THE HERMITAGE. 



called the "quarters," the homes of the negro slaves. To 
the right of the house was the garden, laid out in prim 
style with perfectly clean walks between well-kept beds 
shaped in triangles, squares, and circles. In the part of 
the garden next the- house were the flowers, the special 
care of Elizabeth, or "Betty," George's sister. Here 
were hedges of lilacs, beds of sunflowers, roses, tulips, 
pinks, peonies, poppies, and hollyhocks. Geraniums, 



136 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

verbenas, chrysanthemums, and many other of our fa- 
vorite flowers were then unknown. Among the veg- 
etables of which George's people had never heard were 
the tomato, the eggplant, and okra. Years afterward 
the seed of the tomato was brought to this country from 
France, and the plant was cultivated in flower gardens 
for ornament. The fruit was thought for a long time to 
be poisonous, and was called the love apple. 

His Dinner. — A negro boy somewhat smaller than 
Jasper came to the dining-room door and rang the bell 
for dinner. George's mother, Mrs. Washington, in a 
simple black gown, took her seat at the head of the table. 
George sat opposite his mother and asked God's blessing 
before beginning to eat, for his father had died three 
years before, and he, as the eldest of his mother's chil- 
dren, must take his father's place. On both sides of the 
table were seated the other children — Elizabeth, a girl of 
thirteen, and the three younger boys, Samuel, Augustine, 
and Charles. A negro man, with long white apron 
reaching from his chin to his knees, waited upon the 
table. 

Dinner over, the younger boys got their mother's per- 
mission to accompany Uncle Chess, an old negro slave, 
to the river near by to catch fish. George and his 
mother and Elizabeth took their seats on the front porch. 
Elizabeth busied herself with a handkerchief she was 
embroidering, while George and his mother talked ear- 
nestly over the affairs of the plantation. 

Entertainment of Visitors — Late in the afternoon, 
while George, with Jasper's help, was busy in the back 
yard cleaning his gun, two horsemen rode up to the gate 



PICTURES OF LIFE IX THE COLONIES 



+ 37 



in front of the house. Mrs. Washington, who had seen 
them approaching, called to Jasper to run and take 
charge of the gentlemen's horses. George came 
through the house and met the strangers at the front 
porch with a hearty welcome. They proved to be two 
planters on their way to Williamsburg, the capital of the 
colony. You must remember that there were no rail- 







mm 




STAGECOACH AXD INN. 

roads in those days. On a few of the most-traveled, 
wagon roads a stagecoach passed about once a week, 
drawn by four or six horses and carrying passengers in- 
side with their baggage strapped on behind. The roads 
were so rough that most of the traveling was done on 
horses. The horseback traveler carried his baggage in 
great leather "saddlebags." 

The Plantation Parlor — The strangers had hardly 
taken their seats on the porch when Mrs. Washington 



138 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 



appeared and gave them a cordial greeting, inviting them 
to pass the night at her home. One of the negroes car- 
ried their saddlebags to the guest room upstairs, which 
was always kept ready for visitors. After supper the 
family, with the two visitors, assembled in the parlor, a 
large room furnished with a shiny black sofa and stiff- 
backed chairs, its small-paned windows hung with dimity 
curtains. From, the great fireplace, adorned with a huge 

bouquet of brilliant-colored 
autumn leaves, brass and- 
irons shone forth like gold. 
Over the mantel hung a por- 
trait of George's father as 
a young man. On the walls 
were several other portraits, 
among them one of George's 
mother in her girlhood. 
There was a tall mahog- 
any sideboard which held a 
handsome silver bowl, pitcher, and goblets that once be- 
longed to George's great-grandfather. In one corner of 
the room was a harpsichord, a musical instrument re- 
sembling a small three-cornered piano. The parlor was 
lighted by several candles fixed in tall silver candlesticks. 
After some time spent in conversation one of the guests 
asked Betty to give them some music. At once, with- 
out waiting to be "begged," she stepped to the harpsi- 
chord, and played one of the pieces her mother had 
taught her. 

The Guest Chamber — Bedtime always came early in 
George's home, and it was the custom to hold family 




HARPSICHORD. 






PICTURES OF LIFE IN THE COLONIES 



139 



prayers before retiring. Since her husband's death Mrs. 
Washington had trained George to take his father's place 
and read from the prayer book the form of family wor- 
ship. To-night, however, at her request, one of her 
guests led the prayer, after which the good-nights were 
said, and a servant with lighted candle led the strangers 
upstairs to their room. The bed in this room would seem 
queer to a boy or girl of to-day. In the first place, it was 
so high that you would think one would have to climb 
into it with the help of a chair, and if the sleeper should 
chance to roll out of bed he would get a severe bump. 
Then the tall bedposts at the four corners of the bed 
almost touched the low ceiling, and from them curtains 
of spotless white were draped. The bedspread, home- 
made and woven in fancy patterns, reached down to the 
floor. The pillows, arrayed in their starched pillow 
shams, rested stiffly upon the bolster. The sheets were 
spotlessly clean and the mat- 
tress comfortable, so there is 
no doubt the visitors slept 
soundly. 

His Sabbath — Sunday 
morning the household pre- 
pared for church. The 
guests accepted Mrs. Wash- 
ington's invitation and took 
seats in the family carriage 
with Betty and her mother, while George on one horse 
and the two younger boys on another accompanied them. 
On the driver's seat of the carriage sat black Caesar, feel- 
ing his importance as, arrayed in his Sunday best and 




CHURCH WASHINGTON 
ATTENDED. 



140 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

flourishing his whip, he held a tight rein on the spirited 
horses. By his side was the black boy Tom, ready to 
jump down and open the carriage door when a stop was 
made. As they neared the church a number of horses 
and carriages were seen in the shade of the great trees 
that surrounded the building, while others were ap- 
proaching from different directions. The church was a 
small brick building with square doors and arched win- 
dows. Inside were tall straight-backed pews, each en- 
tered by a door, which the occupant always closed be- 
hind him. There was a gallery on one side, in which the 
negroes were seated. The minister wore a robe, or sur- 
plice, and he reached his high pulpit by climbing a wind- 
ing stairway. The service was that of the Episcopal 
Church. George and his sister and brothers each had a 
prayer book and joined heartily and reverently in all the 
responses. 

His School — On Monday morning the young folks 
were up bright and early to get ready for school. The 
schoolhouse was five miles distant. A negro manservant 
usually accompanied the children to and from school. 
They rode horseback and carried their dinners with them. 
It was not a free school, but parents paid for the tuition 
of their children. The attendance of pupils was small, 
chiefly because the planters lived so far apart that it was 
almost impossible for children to attend regularly. The 
schoolhouse of that day had uncomfortable "homemade" 
desks and seats, and was not supplied with maps or black- 
boards. It was known as an "old-field school/' because 
it stood in an old field that from long use had become un- 
fit for cultivation. The teacher was sometimes the 



PICTURES OF LIFE IN THE COLONIES 141 

church sexton, sometimes the minister. The girls were 
usually taught privately at home by a governess or tutor. 
The older boys were sent to William and Mary College 
at Williamsburg. 

Outdoor Life and Sports — The Southern people were 
fond of horses and of horseback riding. Every white 
family kept a horse, and the rich planters had stables full 
of the finest animals. The planter never walked except 
about the house. Every morning his horse, all saddled 
and bridled, groomed and curried until he shone like silk, 
was brought to his door by a negro slave. The poor 
farmer who owned no slave would often spend hours 
tramping through the woods to find and catch his horse 
in order to ride two or three miles to church or to the 
courthouse or to visit a neighbor. Horse racing, fox 
hunting, and deer hunting were favorite sports for men 
and boys. Open air barbecues were frequent, at which 
plenty of fun was provided for everybody. A Virginia 
newspaper of colonial times gives notice that "On St. 
Andrew's Day there are to be Horse Races and several 
other Diversions for the entertainment of the Gentle- 
men and Ladies at the Old Field near Capt. John Bicker- 
ton's/' The program provided, among other things, 
"That a violin be played for by twenty Fiddlers, no per- 
son to have the liberty of playing unless he bring a fiddle 
with him. After the prize is won they are all to play 
together, and each one a different tune, and to be treated 
by the company." " "That twelve boys of twelve years of 
age do run a hundred and twelve yards for a Hat of the 
cost of twelve shillings/' "That a handsome entertain- 
ment be provided for the subscribers and their wives; 



142 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 



and such of them as are not so happy as to have wives 
may treat any other body." 

A Visit to Williamsburg, the Capital — To Southern 
boys and girls of colonial times there was no more joyous 
event than a visit to the capital of the colony. A favorite 
time for the trip was while the lawmakers of the colony 
were holding their yearly meeting. Then we may pic- 
ture a Virginia planter and his wife with their two old- 
est children taking their places in the family coach, and 

amid the good-byes 
of children and serv- 
ants left behind they 
are whirled away to 
Williamsburg. They 
find the little town 
arotised from its usual 
sleepiness. Its streets 
are filled with visitors 
who exchange hearty 
greetings when they 
meet, or who stand in 
groups eagerly discus- 
sing the price of tobacco, or the speed of a favorite horse, 
or the conduct of the royal governor. The hall of the 
"burgesses," or lawmakers, is one of the places they visit 
in order to listen to the speeches. Perhaps Virginia's 
great orator, Patrick Henry, makes their ears tingle and 
their blood beat faster by one of his fiery speeches de- 
nouncing the king for his mistreatment of his loving sub- 
jects. Then our visitors attend the horse races, and the 
boys hurrah when their favorite wins. But the girls will 




OLD CAPITOL AT WILLIAMSBURG. 






PICTURES OF LIFE IN THE COLONIES 1 43 

not be happy until they have been invited to a ball at the 
governor's palace. On the night of the dance the guests 
assemble early. They find the heavy furniture moved 
out of the hall and the floor waxed until it is shining and 
slippery as glass. A multitude of candles in polished 
silver candlesticks light the house as brilliantly as candles 
can light it. Negro servants hurry to and fro, each one 
feeling as important as the governor himself. Several 
negroes seated in a corner diligently tune their violins. 
The favorite dances are the slow and graceful minuet 
and the more lively reel. Waltzes are unknown. The 
figures of the dance are usually called out in a loud 
voice, and each gentleman, bowing low to his lady partner 
and catching the tips of her fingers, moves through the 
stately measure. 

The Boy Grown to Manhood— You have seen that the 
owner of a Southern plantation had a great many people 
to care for and to direct. The children of the planter 
were early trained, like George Washington, to assist 
their parents in managing the plantation. This training 
in the control of important business and in governing 
many servants helped to make of the Southern boys, as 
they grew to manhood, successful army officers, law- 
makers, leaders of men, who played important parts in 
laying the foundation of their country's future greatness. 
The girls, too, grew to be women who ruled within their 
homes with gentle yet queenly grace, and who in times 
of sorrow and danger set splendid examples of courage 
and self-sacrifice. 

In what colony is the home of the boy in the second story? Tell 
about his return from a hunt; about the negroes in his fathers to- 



144 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

bacco field. Describe George's home; the garden; the dinner; the 
arrival of visitors. How did people travel in those days ? Tell about 
the welcome to the guests. Describe the parlor. Tell about Betty's 
music ; family prayers ; the guest room. How did George's household 
go to church? Describe the church. Tell about George's school. 
How were the girls taught? Tell about the fondness of the Southern 
colonists for horses ; the sports advertised for St. Andrew's Day ; the 
visit to the capital ; the places visited at Williamsburg. Describe the 
ball Of what value to Southern boys and girls was their home 
training? 



CHAPTER VIII 



The French War and the Downfall of 
New France 

Colonel George Washington 

A New Enemy Faces the English Colonists. — We have 
seen how the sturdy English settlers along the Atlantic 
coast overcame every difficulty that beset them. The 
freezing cold of New 
England winters, the 
scorching fevers of 
Southern summers, 
perils of starvation, 
attacks by savage In- 
dians — all these dan- 
gers and others be- 
sides often threatened 
the settlements with destruction. But brave, persever- 
ing, industrious, our fathers conquered each enemy that 
opposed them until thirteen English colonies were firmly 
established, with settlements dotting the Atlantic coast 
from New Hampshire to Georgia. Now, as the English 
settlers began to push westward beyond the Allegheny 
Mountains, they were brought face to face with another 
enemy. The French occupants of the Mississippi Valley 
built forts on the western slopes of the Alleghenies and 

145 




NEW FRANCE AT BEGINNING OF THE 
WAR. 



146 



THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 



disputed the progress of the English. A great conflict 
now arose to settle the question whether Frenchmen or 
Englishmen were to be masters of North America. 

The Beginning of the Quarrel — On a cold, rainy De- 
cember day the soldiers of one of the new French forts 
in the Western wilderness were startled to see, coming 
out of the woods, a tall young man leading a small party 
consisting of four or five white men and several Indians. 
The visitors, weary and mud-stained from a long jour- 
ney of nearly five hundred miles, were kindly received 
into the fort. The young leader at once asked to see the 
French commander, and delivered to him a letter from 
the governor of Virginia. In this letter the governor 
said he was surprised that the French should build a fort 
on land which everybody knew belonged to the English ; 
he demanded that the Frenchmen should at once march 
themselves back to their own territory. He added that 
he hoped his messenger, Major Washington, would be 
kindly received, and that a favorable answer would be 
returned. 

Major George Washington — Major Washington, the 
governor's messenger, was the same George Washington 
whose boyhood home has been described. George had 
left school at fifteen, with a fair knowledge of arithmetic, 
geometry, and surveying, a good penman, and skilled in 
keeping accounts. He was tall, strong, and active, fond 
of running, leaping, and wrestling, and able to ride the 
wildest horse. It is said that he could throw a stone 
across the Rappahannock River at a place where nobody 
else has ever been able to do it. His half-brother, Law- 
rence, many years older than George, had been a soldier 



THE FRENCH WAR 



147 







in the West Indies. George greatly loved this half- 
brother, and when visiting his home at Mount Vernon, 
on the Potomac River, listened with delight to the young 
soldier's stories of the wars. Returning to his own home 
after one of these visits, he 
would make soldiers of his 
playmates and have them 
parade and engage in make- 
believe battles. When only 
sixteen years of age he was 
employed by Lord Fairfax to 
survey that nobleman's lands 
lying between the Blue Ridge 
and the Allegheny Mountains. 
This work was so well done 
that at eighteen he was ap- 
pointed public surveyor, and 
shortly afterward was made major of militia, or home 
troops. He was twenty-one years old when chosen by 
the governor of Virginia for the difficult and dangerous 
task of visiting the French forts in the West. 

Washington's Return from the French Fort.— The 
French commander had no idea of giving up his fort. 
He wrote a polite answer declining Governor Dinwid- 
dle's request, and with this letter Washington set out on 
his long homeward journey. It was now in the middle 
of wintef. Forests, rivers, and mountains had to be 
crossed, and there^were neither roads nor bridges. The 
horses of the little party seemed about to give out, so 
Washington and one companion pushed forward on foot. 
An Indian shot at Washington, but missed him. The 



WASHINGTON. 



148 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

would-be murderer was caught, and Washington's com- 
panion wanted to kill him, but Washington set him free. 
While crossing a river a large piece of floating ice struck 
the pole with which Washington was guiding the raft, 
.and he was thrown into the freezing water. He man- 
aged to get hold of the raft and scramble upon it, but 
the floating ice compelled him and his companion to 
spend the night on an island in the river. The next 
morning the river was frozen over, and they walked to 
the bank on the ice. At last they reached the capital of 
Virginia, and delivered to the governor the French com- 
mander's letter. 

Washington Gains a Victory and Suffers a Defeat. 
The War Begins — The successful performance of his 
dangerous task made young Washington famous 
throughout Virginia. When, soon afterward, Governor 
Dinwiddie sent troops to drive the French from a fort 
at the head of the Ohio River, Washington, now known 
as "Colonel" Washington, was one of the officers in com- 
mand. On his way to the fort, while leading a small ad- 
vance party, Washington defeated a French force at 
Great Meadows, in southwestern Pennsylvania. With 
this fight the great French War began. By the death 
of his superior officer Washington became commander 
of the expedition. On July 4, his little army was at- 
tacked at Fort Necessity (not far from Great Meadows) 
by a French force twice as large as his own. His men 
were tired, hungry, and drenched by the incessant rain. 
They fought bravely nearly all day; then their powder 
began to give out. At eight o'clock in the evening the 
fighting stopped. Washington agreed to surrender on 






THE FRENCH WAR 



149 



the condition that his men be allowed to march back to 
their homes, carrying their arms with them. If young 
Colonel Washington could have known what a glorious 
day the 4th of July would afterward become for his 
countrymen he might have felt less gloomy and discour- 
aged as he signed the papers of surrender by the light of 
a flickering candle on the night of that rainy 4th. But 
no w r onder he felt discouraged ; not an English flag now 
waved west of the Alleghenies. 

Braddock's Defeat. Washington Saves Part of the 
Army — England now took a hand in the war. General 
Braddock was sent over 
with an army of train- 
ed soldiers. Washing- 
ton and several compa- 
nies of Virginia troops 
joined Braddock's 
forces. They set out 
across the mountains 
to take Fort Duquesne, 
at the head of the 
Ohio River — the same 
French fort that Wash- 
ington had tried to 
capture the year be- 
fore. General Brad- 
dock was a brave offi- 




GENERAL BRADDOCK S ROUTE. 



cer who had been in many battles in European wars. 
But all his previous battles were against soldiers who 
fought like his own men, in regular ranks and in the 
open field. He knew nothing of battles in the woods, 



150 



THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 



against an enemy who hid behind trees. In the midst 
of the forest his army was attacked by a force of 
French and Indians. Washington had two horses 
shot under him and his coat was pierced with bullets. 
Braddock fell with a bullet in his breast, and his men 
fled in confusion. That any of them escaped w r as 
due to Washington and the Virginia troops. 

Washington Captures a Prize. — Washington was now 
made commander-in-chief of the Virginia forces. 

While on his way to Wil- 
liamsburg, the capital, he was 
invited to take dinner at the 
home of a hospitable planter. 
He declared he had not time 
to stop, but finally consented 
to do so. At dinner he met 
several other guests, among 
them Mrs. Martha Custis, 
a young widow with dark 
brown hair and eyes and 
pleasing manners. Wash- 
ington found the company so 
agreeable that when his servant brought his horse to 
the door for him to depart he ordered the animal to 
be taken back to the stable. It was after breakfast 
next morning before he could tear himself away. In 
a short time he was back again, and before he left to 
join his troops Mrs. Martha Custis had promised to 
become Mrs. George Washington. 

The War Spreads. Washington's Third March 
Against Fort Duquesne.— All the English colonies now 




MARTHA WASHINGTON 



THE FRENCH WAR 151 

joined in the war. Most of the Indian tribes helped 
the French. The powerful Iroquois, of New York, 
however, had hated the French ever since Champlain 
sided with their enemies, and they would not agree 
now to help them. There was fighting in the North, 
in the South, and on the Western frontiers. Once 
more an army of English and colonial troops marched 
against Fort Duquesne. The defenders of the place, 
being nearly out of provisions, set fire to the fort and 
fled. Washington, leading the advance guard of the 
attacking army, planted an English flag on the 
smoking ruins. The name of the fort was changed 
to Fort Pitt in honor of William Pitt, the great Eng- 
lish statesman and friend of America. In later years 
Fort Pitt became the city of Pittsburg, now one of the 
great manufacturing cities of our country. 

Washington Receives the Thanks of the Virginians. — 
The capture of Fort Duquesne put an end to French 
attacks in the South. Washington gave up his office 
in the army, went home, and was married to Mrs. 
Custis. His neighbors at once chose him one of the 
burgesses to make the laws for the Virginia colony. 
When he took his seat in the House of Burgesses at 
Williamsburg the Speaker, or President, arose and 
in the name of the people of Virginia thanked Colonel 
Washington for his brave deeds in the war. When 
he finished, Washington stood up to answer. But 
he was not used to making speeches, and he could 
only blush and stammer without saying a word. At 
last the Speaker helped him by saying, "Sit down, 
Mr. Washington. Your modesty is equal to your 



152 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

bravery, and that is greater than my words can 
describe. " 
The Battle of Quebec— The last great battle of the war 




BRITISH ARMY AT QUEBEC 



was at Quebec, in Canada. A French army under 
General Montcalm held the city. General Wolfe, 
with an English army, sailed up the St. Lawrence to 



THE FRENCH WAR 153 

take the place. For weeks the English officer tried in 
vain to find some way by which their men could be 
led up the steep cliffs upon which Quebec is situated. 
At last General Wolfe discovered with his spyglass 
a narrow winding path leading from the water's edge 
to the heights above. In the darkness of night an 
English force landed and climed in single file the steep 
ascent. All reached the top before they were dis- 
covered. A fierce battle followed. The gallant Wolfe 
was wounded in the wrist. He wrapped the wound 
and continued to lead the charge. Another ball 
struck him in the breast. As he was carried from 
the field he heard the cry, "They run, they run!" 
'Who runs?" asked the dying general. "The 
French!" was the reply. "Then God be praised; I 
die happy!" he exclaimed, and breathed his last. The 
French general Montcalm, was also mortally 
wounded. When told he could live only a few hours 
he replied, "So much the better; for I shall not live 
to see the surrender of Quebec." The fall of the capi- 
tal of New France closed the war. Peace was made 
in 1763. 

Some Results of the French Wax.— At the beginning of 
the war the French claimed Canada, the Great Lake 
region, and the Mississippi Valley. At the close of the 
war the victorious English took possession of all 
French territory east of the Mississippi River. France 
hastily presented^to Spain (1765) her territory west 
of the Mississippi, to keep it from falling into the 
hands of the English. Thus at one blow poor France 
lost every foot of the vast region won for her by the 



154 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 




NORTH AMERICA AT CLOSE OF 
FRENCH WAR. 



heroism of C a r t i e r, 
Champlain, Marquette, 
La Salle, and others of 
her brave sons. Thirty - 
five years later (1800) 
Spain gave back to 
France all of this great 
Lousiana region. 
France held it three 
years, then sold it all to 
the United States 
(1803). — See pages 116 
and 204. 



Name some of the difficulties overcome by the English colonists. 
What great conflict finally faced them? Tell about the beginning of 
the quarrel between the French and the English settlers ; about George 
Washington's life after leaving school. What answer did the com- 
mander of the French fort give to- Major Washington? Describe 
Washington's return. Tell about the fight at Great Meadows ; at 
Fort Necessity. Who was General Braddock? Tell about Brad- 
dock's expedition; about Colonel Washington's conduct and his pro- 
motion ; about his meeting with Mrs. Martha Custis. What can you 
say of the spread of the war? Tell about the capture of Fort Du- 
quesne; about Washington's attempt to make a speech before the 
Virginia Assembly; about the last great battle of the war. What 
changes of territory resulted from the French War? 



CHAPTER IX 

The English Colonies Become Independent States 

General George Washington and the 
War of the Revolution 



The Quarrel with England — The English colonists had 
not long been free from danger from their French 
enemies before they found themselves getting into an- 
other quarrel. This time it was a family trouble— a 
quarrel with their mother country, England. The set- 
tlers loved old England, the land of their fathers, and 
they were proud of their kinship with her. But the 
mother country had not always dealt fairly with her 
children across the sea. ■ As the colonists grew stronger 
and better able to take care of themselves they became 
more and more impatient of their unjust treatment by 
England. At last, when they could endure it no longer, 
they openly resisted the mother country, cut loose from 
her control, and set up housekeeping for themselves. 
Let us see how the quarrel began. 

Some Complaints of the Colonists The kings of Eng- 
land did not seem to care what sort of men they sent 
to America to govern the colonies. Instead of pick- 
ing out wise and good men who would feel a real in- 
terest in the welfare of the Americans, they often ap- 
pointed worthless men, who were anxious to get the 

155 



156 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

governor's salary, but who despised the people they 
ruled, and were constantly quarreling with them. Then 
there were some English laws that were aimed to make 
English merchants and traders richer, but which, at the 
same time, kept the Americans poor. For example, the 
colonists were not allowed to cut down a pine tree over 
two feet in diameter, except to make a mast for an Eng- 
lish ship. All furs of animals taken in our woods must 
be sent to England, and all our goods must be carried 
in English ships. We were not allowed to make our own 
hats, but must buy them in England. 

Taxation without Representation. The Stamp Tax. — 
England had spent a great deal of money to carry on the 
French War, and she owed a large debt in consequence. 
As the war had been partly for the benefit of the colonists 
she decided to make them help pay this debt. So a tax 
called the Stamp Tax was ordered to be collected from 
them. All written bargains, marriage licenses, and 
many other papers had to have stamps on them, and 
these stamps cost all the way from one cent to sixty 
dollars. The Americans did not mind paying a tax 
which they themselves had decided was right. But no 
Americans were allowed to be members of the English 
Parliament, by which the stamp law and all other tax 
laws of England were passed. To the colonists this 
taxing them without their consent — without their being 
represented in Parliament — was more than the Amer- 
icans could stand. From one end of the colonies to the 
other the people repeated the words of an American 
speaker, 'Taxation without representation is tyranny/' 
They declared they would never pay the tax. 



ENGLISH COLONIES BECOME INDEPENDENT STATES I 57 

The Tax on Tea — So much objection was raised 
against the stamp tax that England finally decided not 
to try to make the colonists pay it. But she was deter- 
mined to get money from them in some way, so she placed 
a tax on the tea that they used. The tax was made so 
small, and the Americans were so fond of tea, that it 
was thought this tax would be readily paid. But the 
English rulers did not understand the feelings of the 
Americans. It was not the amount of tax that they 
objected to, but the whole plan of taxing them without 
their consent. So they became angrier than ever with 
England. They stopped drinking tea. Merchants re- 
fused to handle it. In Boston a crowd of men dressed 
as Indians one night went on board a ship that was 
waiting in the harbor to unload its cargo of tea, broke 
open the tea boxes, and threw the tea into the water. 

England Gets Angry and the Quarrel More Bitter — 
When the news of the "Boston Tea Party/' as it was 
called, reached England there was great indignation, and 
it was decided that the obstinate Bostonians should be 
punished. A law was passed forbidding any ship to en- 
ter or leave the harbor of Boston. As there were no 
railroads in those days this law had much the same effect 
as if all the railroad trains to-day entering one of our 
cities should cease running. Business was ruined. But 
all the colonists stood by Boston in her trouble. Mary- 
land sent her barrels of flour, and Georgia sent her bags 
of rice. "I am willing/' said George Washington, of 
\ irginia, "to raise a thousand men, pay their expenses 
myself, and lead them to the relief of Boston." Repre- 
sentatives from nearly every colony met at Philadelphia 



158 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

to consider what was best to be done. In this meeting, 
known as the "Continental Congress/' it was decided to 
resist the unjust laws of England in every way possible. 
Thus the quarrel between England and her colonies be- 
came more bitter. 

After the French War what new quarrel did the English colonists 
soon have? What did that quarrel lead to? Mention some things 
the colonists complained of. Why did England wish to tax her col- 
onists? What was the stamp tax? Why did the Americans object to 
this tax? What was the result of their objections? Tell about the 
tea tax, and what the colonists thought of it. How did England 
punish Boston for the "tea party"? Tell about the sympathy for 
Boston in other colonies c 

THE FREEING OF MASSACHUSETTS 

Paul Revere's Midnight Ride — In the beginning of 
the quarrel an army of British soldiers had been sent 
to Boston. The commander of these soldiers now heard 
that the Americans were collecting guns and ammuni- 
tion at the village of Concord, twenty miles away. He 
ordered part of his troops to slip out of Boston secretly 
at night, hurry to Concord, and capture or destroy the 
American supplies before the colonists could know any- 
thing about his plan. A young farmer named Paul 
Revere found out what the British troops were prepar- 
ing to do, and on the night that they started he learned 
what road they expected to take. Jumping on his horse, 
he dashed at full speed down the road between Boston 
and Concord, stopping a moment at every village and 
farmhouse to rouse the people from their beds with the 
cry that the British soldiers were coming. When the 
British reached the village of Lexington, halfway be- 



ENGLISH COLONIES BECOME INDEPENDENT STATES 1 59 



tween Boston and Concord, they found a small crowd 
of farmers gathered to oppose them. The fight that 
followed was the first battle of the War of the Revolu- 
tion. 

Lexington and Concord — The brave farmers could not 
withstand trained forces. Several Americans were 
killed; the rest withdrew from the field. The British 
pushed on to Concord, 
where another fight took 
place. They burned the 
houses in which the Amer- 
ican guns were stored, 
then started back to Bos- 
ton. By this time all the 
country around had been 
aroused, and the Ameri- 
cans swarmed like angry 
bees around the line of 
march of the British. 
Concealed behind trees 
and fences along the road, 
they poured a steady 
stream of bullets into the 
ranks of the weary red- 
coats, who now longed to 
be safe in their Boston 
camp once more. If the British general had not sent 
out a thousand fresh troops to help them they would 
never have gotten back to Boston. As it was, the num- 
ber of British killed on that bloody day was more than 
ten times as great as that of the Americans. 




PAUL REVERE S RIDE. 



l60 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

The Mecklenburg Declaration. — In the town of Char- 
lotte, North Carolina, citizens of Mecklenburg County 
met for the purpose of taking steps toward resisting 
the "Stamp Act" and the tax laws of Great Britain. 
In the midst of their discussion a horseman brought 
startling news. He told of the fight at Lexington 
and of the death of some of the Massachusetts patri- 
ots. A new thought sprang into the minds of the 
patriots of Mecklenburg County. If they were to be 
shot down for asserting their rights, there was but 
one step left for them. This body of patriots far aw x ay 
at the foot of the Alleghenies bravely took this last 
step. A resolution, introduced by Dr. Ephriam Bre- 
vard, was adopted by the convention. This resolu- 
tion referred to the innocent blood shed at Lexington 
and boldly announced "That we do hereby declare 
ourselves a free and independent people." This is 
the first formal declaration of American Independ- 
ence of which we have any knowledge. (May 19, 
1775.) 

Battle of Bunker Hill— From all parts of Massachu- 
setts and from the adjoining New England colonies 
troops hurried to Boston eager to drive out the Brit- 
ish army. A hill, afterward known as Bunker Hill, 
overlooking the city, was occupied by part of the 
American forces. The British determined to drive 
the colonists from this position. Twice they made 
the attempt, only to be driven back to the foot of the 
hill by the unerring fire of the American riflemen. 
Bravely they made a third attempt. This time the 
ammunition of the Americans gave out, and the patri- 



ENGLISH COLONIES BECOME INDEPENDENT STATES 1 6l 

ots were obliged to retreat, leaving the British at last 
in possession of the hill. 

The Whole Country Aroused. General Washington. — 

Although there were no telegraphs and railroads and 
few newspapers in those days, yet the news of the 
fighting between the king's soldiers and the farmers 
of Massachusetts soon reached all the colonies. The 
Americans believed that if Massachusetts should be 
beaten a British army would be sent to other colonies 
to enforce the hateful tax laws of England; and as 
they had before sent cheering messages and supplies 
of food to Boston, now they prepared to shoulder 
their guns and march to her defense. Another meet- 
ing of the Continental Congress was held at Phila- 
delphia, and it was decided that an American army 
should be raised and that Colonel George Washing- 
ton, of Virginia, should be chosen commander in 
chief. 

General Washington Drives the British from Boston. — 

George Washington was forty-three years old when 
he became "General" Washington, commander of the 
American forces. A short time after the battle of 
Bunker Hill he took charge of the army before Bos- 
ton. He at once set to work drilling the inexperienced 
soldiers, at the same time doing all he could to get 
muskets, ammunition, and cannons. A hill over- 
looking Boston on the opposite side from Bunker 
Hill was occupied one night by Washington's troops. 
When the British awoke and saw the cannons of the 
Americans pointing down at them from the top of the 
hill they decided that the only thing left to do was 



1 62 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

to get on board their ships and sail away. This they 
quickly did, while Washington p.nd his army marched 
in triumph into the city. You may be sure they were 
given a hearty welcome by the happy Bostonians. 



Tell about the plan of the British commander in Boston to destroy 
the American supplies; Paul Kevere's ride; the battle of Lexington. 
Where is Bunker Hill? Describe the battle. What was the effect 
of the news of the battles of Lexington and Bunker Hill? What did 
Congress do? Where did Washington take command of the army? 
Tell how he drove the British from Boston. 



IN THE SOUTHERN AND MIDDLE STATES 

Ti?e British Attack Charleston, South Carolina.— 
While these exciting events were happening in 
Massachusetts the South was also getting a taste of 
war. The British governor of Virginia, at the head 
of a small force, seized a quantity of powder, and 
tried to get the slaves to take up arms against their 
masters. His force was beaten, and the governor 
himself was chased by the angry Virginians on board 
a British ship in Chesapeake Bay. 

A large British fleet sailed against Charleston, 
South Carolina, the largest city in the South. Fort 
Moultrie, on an island, guarded the enrtance to the 
harbor. The fort was built of palmetto logs, and the 
British balls sank into the spongy wood without injur- 
ing the walls. When nine of their ships were badly 
crippled by American shots the British concluded 
they had enough. The fleet sailed away, and Charles- 
ton was saved. 



ENGLISH COLONIES BECOME INDEPENDENT STATES 1 63 



The Colonies Declare Themselves Independent States. — 
The Americans now saw that their resistance to Eng- 
land only made her rul- 
ers more determined to 
enforce the hated tax 
laws. So they decided 
to separate from the 
mother country. On the 
4th of July, 1776, the 
Congress at Philadel- 
phia adopted a Declara- 
tion of Independence, 
written by Thomas Jef 
ferson, of Virginia. The 
Declaration proclaimed 
that we were no longer 
English colonies, but in- 
dependent States. As 
soon as the Declaration was adopted the bell in the 
tower of the house in which Congress met was rung 
to announce the glad tidings to the citizens of Phila- 
delphia. From Massachusetts to Georgia the news 
of the Declaration of Independence was joyfully 
received, and since then the 4th of July has been cele- 
brated as the birthday of the United States. 

Discouragements for Washington. — After his great 
success in driving the British out of Boston, things 
for a while went badly with General Washington. 
He led his army to New York to defend that city 
from an expected British attack. But here the British 
turned the tables on him and drove his armv from 




THE LIBERTY BELL 



1 64 




ENGLISH COLONIES BECOME INDEPENDENT STATES 1 65 

the city. He retreated across New Jersey, pursued 
by a British army. It was winter time; his men were 
poorly supplied with shoes, and their feet, cut by the 
sharp rocks, left bloody tracks in the snow. Reaching 
the Delaware River, he crossed to the western side, 
taking with him every boat he could find, so his pur- 
suing enemies could not follow him. The Americans 
were deeply discouraged, and many harsh words were 
spoken against Washington by his own people. 

A Victory on Christmas Night. — But George Wash- 
ington never lost hope. He had learned that the time 
of discouragement is the time for greatest effort. On 
Christmas night his little army again embarked on 
the Delaware River. Though their hands were so 
stiff with cold that they could hardly hold their guns, 
and though the floating ice in the river threatened 
to upset their boats, they reached the New Jersey 
bank in safety. Then marching swiftly and silently 
to the town of Trenton, they burst upon the British 
force stationed there, surprising them in the midst 
of the dancing and drinking of their Christmas festivi- 
ties. The British quickly surrendered. A few days 
later Washington gained another great victory at 
Princeton, New Jersey, and the British were forced 
back toward New York. These splendid successes 
showed how great a general was our Washington. 

Philadelphia Taken.-But more discouragements were 
in store for the Americans. A large British army 
sailed around to the head of Chesapeake Bay, defeated 
Washington's army in two battles, and occupied 
Philadelphia. Things now looked gloomier than ever. 



1 66 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

There was great suffering among Washington's men. 
They spent the winter at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, 
in huts that poorly protected them from the cold. 
They had few blankets, many had no shirts, and hun- 
dreds were barefooted. Again unkind things were 
said of Washington, and an attempt was even made 
to have him removed from command. 

Good News from France. — In the midst of these 
trying times there came glad news from across the 
ocean. France had decided to help us in our fight 
against her old enemy, England. For some time 
she had been considering this step, when the news of 
a great victory won at Saratoga, New York, by an 
American army under General Gates over the British 
general, Burgoyne, hastened the decision. Hearing 
that French troops were coming to our aid, the British 
left Philadelphia and hastened back to New York. 
Among the French soldiers who fought for American 
liberty was General Lafayette. Washington had no 
braver officer, our country no truer friend, than this 
young Frenchman. 

Tell about the fighting between the Virginians and the troops of the 
king's governor; the British attack upon Charleston, South Carolina. 
Why did the colonists decide to separate from England? Tell about 
the Declaration of Independence. Where did General Washington go 
after driving the British from Boston? What discouragements now 
befell him? What effect did discouragements have upon Washington? 
Tell about his victory at Trenton ; the capture of Philadelphia by the 
British ; the winter at Valley Forge. What good news came from 
France? What hastened the decision of France to help us? What effect 
did the news have upon the British army at Philadelphia? Who was 
General Lafayette? Name an American general who recently went 
to the help of France with an American army. 



ENGLISH COLONIES BECOME INDEPENDENT STATES 1 67 
CLOSING EVENTS OF THE WAR 

General Greene Sent to Defend the South. — After the 
splendid victory at Fort Moultrie, in the beginning of 
the war, the American cause had been faring badly 
in the South. One British victory followed another 
until Georgia and South Carolina were overrun by 
the British. Finally, by the advice of Washington, 
General Greene was placed in command of our South- 
ern army. Greene soon proved himself a great gen- 
eral. Rarely risking a battle with his small army, 
and often retreating, he yet caused such heavy loss to 
his enemies that in little more than a year he had the 
British forces cooped up on the coast, and Georgia 
and the Carolinas freed from British control. 

Battle of King's Mountain.— General Greene's success 
had been made possible by a great victory won just 
before he arrived in the Carolinas by American back- 
woodsmen from beyond the mountains. Many hardy 
frontiersmen from Virginia and from the Carolinas 
had made homes for themselves on the western slopes 
of the Allegheny Mountains in what is now Kentucky 
and Tennessee. They kept the Western Indians from 
joining the British, and more than once left their 
homes and crossed the mountains to help the hard- 
pressed American forces. When Georgia and the 
Carolinas were overrun by the British the wilderness 
homes of these brave pioneers were still free. A Brit- 
ish commander led his army to the eastern base of 
:he mountains, and sent a message to these "over- 
nountain rebels" ordering them to desist from their 
opposition to British arms. This message cost him 



1 68 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 



his army and his life. It was quickly carried from 
settlement to settlement, and roused the frontiersmen 
like the blast of a trumpet. Trained in many an 
Indian fight to act always with lightning swiftness, 
an army under John Sevier and other pioneer leaders 




THE BATTLE OF KING S MOUNTAIN. 

was soon ori its way across the mountains to punish 
the insolent British. Queer-looking soldiers they 
were. Clad in buckskin trousers and homespun shirts, 
with bucktails in their hats, and armed with long 
knives and unerring rifles, a British officer in beauti- 
ful uniform would have laughed to see them. They 



ENGLISH COLONIES BECOME INDEPENDENT STATES 1 69 

came upon their foes at King's Mountain, near the 
western Carolina border. The British were posted 
on top of the ridge. Sevier divided his force, and they 
rushed up the hill on three sides at once. The British 
leader was killed, and his army surrendered. This 
great victory raised the hopes of the discouraged 
Southerners as the battle of Trenton had their North- 
ern neighbors. 
Washington's Bold Plan and the Victory that Closed the 

War. — After Greene's success in the Carolinas, Gen- 
eral Cornwallis, his British opponent, marched his 
army into Virginia. After doing as much damage as 
he could to the Virginians, Cornwallis took his posi- 
tion at Yorktown, near Chesapeake Bay. Washing- 
ton, who had been watching the British in New York, 
now sent word to our friends, the French, to sail their 
fleet into Chesapeake Bay, while he slipped away 
southward before the British army in New York 
could stop him. Then his plan was to join his French 
allies in an attack upon Cornwallis at Yorktown. This 
fine plan succeeded perfectly. Poor Cornwallis was 
entrapped with the French ships on one side and an 
army of Americans and Frenchmen on the other. His 
men resisted bravely, but were compelled to surren- 
der, October 19, 1781. 

England Consents to Our Independence. — Washing- 
ton's victory at Yorktown closed the War of the 
Revolution. England saw it was no use to try any 
longer to subdue her rebellious colonies. Besides, 
there were many Englishmen who believed from the 
first that the Americans were right in their resistance. 



170 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

A treaty of peace was signed (1783) in which England 
acknowledged the thirteen colonies to be "free and 
independent States." The Mississippi River was 
agreed upon as our boundary en the west, the Great 
Lakes on the north, and Florida on the south. 

The English People Our Friends. — We should re- 
member that the War of the Revolution was brought 
about and waged by the government of England with- 
out the united support of the English people. Wil- 
liam Pitt and Edmund Burke, two foremost British 
statesmen, sympathized with the Americans and bit- 
terly opposed some of the measures that caused the 
war. The British King was descended from German 
ancestry and was more German than English. He 
even had to hire German soldiers to fight against the 
colonists. Moreover, the British Parliament at that 
time was elected in such a way as not to be truly rep- 
resentative of the people of that great country. We 
must not forget that the English people are our near- 
est kinsmen and that throughout the Revolution their 
natural love of political freedom caused them to be 
at heart our real friends. 

Our First Independent Government. — At the begin- 
ning of the Revolution the governors of most of the 
colonies were appointed by the king of England. 
When the colonies declared their independence they 
at once established State governments, with governor, 
legislature, judges, and other officers chosen by the 
people, as we have them now. But some kind of gov- 
ernment over the colonies as a whole was also neces- 
sary. So during the Revolution we adopted a con- 



ENGLISH COLONIES BECOME INDEPENDENT STATES 1 71 

stitution, or form of government, for the United 
States. This first constitution was called the "Arti- 
cles of Confederation/' Under it we had no Presi- 
dent, no United States judges. There was a Congress 
composed of only one house, which met at Philadel- 
phia, then the capital. The Congress could declare 
war and make treaties with foreign nations, but could 
not levy taxes, and had scarcely any power over the 
people or the States. We lived under this constitu- 
tion for seven years after the close of the Revolution 
before we changed it. 



What can you say of the success of the British in the Southern 
colonies during the first part of the war? Tell what General Greene 
accomplished. How did the settlers west of the Alleghenies help the 
American cause? What message was sent to them by a British 
general? What was the result? Describe the battle of King's Moun- 
tain. Where did the British general, Cornwallis, go after leaving 
the Carolinas? Tell how Washington outgeneraled Cornwallis. 
Where did Cornwallis's surrender take place? What was the effect 
of the victory at Yorktown? What change in the government of the 
colonies took place when independence was declared? Tell about 
the "Articles of Confederation/' 



CHAPTER X 
How a Patriot Served His Country 

Why France Came to Help Us in the Revolution. — 

While General Washington in this country was fight- 
ing for the independence of the United States another 
American, with the same purpose in view, was working 

and talking for us at the capital 
of France. And had not his 
peaceful work beyond the ocean 
been so well done it is probable 
that all the bravery of Wash- 
ington and his soldiers would 
not have gained our independ- 
ence. Benjamin Franklin was 
the name of this fellow-worker 
with Washington. At the out- 
break of the Revolution Frank- 
lin was the most famous man 
in the colonies. Congress sent 
him to Paris to try to get the French to help us. By his 
good sense, pleasing manners, great learning, and ready 
wit he became one of the best-known and best-liked men 
at the French capital. He not only persuaded the French 
to send soldiers and ships to our aid, but he got them to 
lend us great sums of money with which to buy supplies 

for our needy troops. When the war was over, Frank- 

172 




h 




BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, 






BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 1/3 

lin, then in feeble health, started to depart for America. 
The king ordered his own servants to take his American 
friend to the ship which w r as to carry him home. The 
king also presented him with his picture surrounded with 
diamonds. 

Boyhood of Franklin — This famous American and 
friend of kings was once a poor boy. He was born in 
Boston, and was the youngest but two in a family of 
ten boys and seven girls. His father earned his living 
by making soap and candles. It was little Benjamin's 
work to help boil the soap and to put the wicks in the 
candle molds, and to trim them. As soon as his older 
brothers were big enough to work they were hired out 
by their father. Ben learned to read so easily, how- 
ever, that his father thought he would send him to school 
and make a minister of him. At school the boy was 
soon at the head of all his classes. But when his father 
found out how much it was going to cost to send his 
son to school and college, he took him from school and 
put him to work in his shop. Benjamin did not like to 
make soap and candles. He sometimes thought of run- 
ning away to sea, as an older brother had done. 

Franklin Becomes a Printer. — Noticing Benjamin's 
fondness for books, his father then determined to make 
him a printer. So Benjamin at twelve years of age was 
apprenticed to his older brother James, who had a print- 
ing office in Boston. He liked his new work because it 
enabled him to read books he could not afford to buy. 
Often he sat up nearly all night reading a borrowed book 
which he had promised to return in the morning. Hav- 
ing heard some friends of his brother discussing the 



,174 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

pieces they had written for his brother's newspaper, 
Benjamin determined to try his hand at writing. So, 
changing his handwriting as much as possible, he wrote 
a piece and slipped it under the office door one night. 
Next morning his brother found it, and liked it so well 
that he printed it, never dreaming it was written by a 
boy. Benjamin was so well pleased with his success 
that he sent in several other articles in the same way. 
When his brother found out who had written the pieces 
he was very angry. This brother was a high-tem- 
pered man, and sometimes he whipped Ben severely. 
When Benjamin was seventeen years old he determined 
to run away. 

Franklin in Philadelphia. — By selling some of his 
books young Franklin got a little money. Then he took 
passage on a sailing vessel to New York. There was 
only one printing office in New York, and finding no 
work for him there, he decided to go on to Philadelphia. 
He walked fifty miles across New Jersey to a town on 
the Delaware River. Then he got on board a boat to 
sail down to Philadelphia. When he reached the city 
he found he had just one dollar left. He was hungry, 
and the first thing he did was to buy three-pence worth 
of bread. The baker handed him three large rolls. As 
he had no valise, and as his pockets were stuffed full of 
clothes, he put one roll under each arm, and walked up 
the street eating the third. At the door of one of the 
houses a young woman stood and smiled at the queer- 
looking boy with the rolls under his arms. This same 
young woman afterward became Franklin's wife. 

Franklin Visits England — The next day Franklin 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 



175 




FRANKLIN S PRINTING 
PRESS. 



found work. His skill as a printer soon attracted notice. 
The governor of Pennsylvania suggested to him that he 
go to London to buy a printing 
press and type, and offered to fur- 
nish the money. The governor, 
however, was a man who did 
not keep his promises. Franklin 
sailed to England, but the prom- 
ised letter from the governor 
never came. Reaching London, 
he had to go to work to earn his 
bread. The London printers 
were great beer-drinkers. As 
Franklin would drink nothing 
but water they laughed at him 
and called him "the water Ameri- 
can." They told him that water would make him weak, 
but they found him the best swimmer and the strongest 
man of them all. 

Franklin Starts a Printing Office of His Own Two 

years in England were enough for Franklin. He re- 
turned to Philadelphia, and ,soon opened a printing 
office of his own. His newspaper, The Pennsylvania 
Gazette, was said to be the best paper in the country. 
About this time he printed the first copy of Poor Rich- 
ard's Almanac, which he continued to publish every year 
for twenty-five years. This Almanac was sold for five 
pence, and it found its way into almost every house 
in the colonies. Many of its wise and witty sayings 
have become proverbs, and have taught our people 
useful lessons. Some of these sayings are: "Honesty 



176 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 



is the best policy"; "Keep your 
marriage and half-shut afterward" 




A MODERN PRINTING PRESS. 



eyes open before 
" God helps them 
that help them- 
selves" ; "Early 
to bed and early 
to rise makes a 
man healthy, 
wealthy, and 
wise." 

Some Public 
Improvements 
Made by Frank- 
lin. — Franklin 
now began to grow rich. But he did not forget the 
welfare of others. He induced the people of Phila- 
delphia to pave and sweep their muddy streets. He 
improved the smoky street lamps. He started the first 
public library in America. He established the first 
fire company in Philadelphia, as well as the first in- 
surance company. He invented the open "Franklin 
stove" to take the place of the immense fireplaces then 
common. By means of a kite which he flew in a thun- 
derstorm he drew a spark of electricity from the clouds, 
thus proving that lightning and electricity are the same. 
His essays on electricity were translated into other lan- 
guages, and Franklin became the best-known American 
of his time. 

Franklin's Services to His Country For more than 

forty years Franklin served his country in different public 
offices. He was postmaster of Philadelphia, postmaster- 
general of the colonies, member of the Pennsylvania 



•BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 1 77 

Legislature. In 1765 he was colonial agent in England, 
where he did all he could to prevent the passage of the 
Stamp Act. He was a member of the Continental Con- 
gress, and one of the committee to draw up the Declara- 
tion of Independence. How he secured the aid of France 
in the Revolution has already been told. On his re- 
turn home from France he was several times chosen gov- 
ernor of Pennsylvania. At the close of the Revolution 
he helped make the treaty with England which acknowl- 
edged our independence and fixed our western boundary 
at the Mississippi River. His last public service was as 
member of the convention which formed the Constitu- 
tion of the United States. He died at the age of eighty- 
four, in the second year of President Washington's ad- 
ministration. He was buried in an old churchyard in 
Philadelphia, and it is said more than 20,000 persons at- 
tended his funeral. 

Tell how Benjamin Franklin helped the American cause during the 
Revolution; about the French king's friendship for Franklin; the 
boyhood of Franklin; his life in his brother's printing office; his jour- 
ney to Philadelphia; his first appearance in Philadelphia; his visit to 
England; his newspaper; his almanac; what he did for the welfare 
of the people; his study of electricity; his public offices; his death. 
Name some traits of Franklin's character that boys and girls of our 
time should copy. 



CHAPTER XI 

The Winning of the West 

Daniel Boone, Hunter and Pioneer 

Work of the Pioneers — When the Revolutionary War 
began the Allegheny Mountains marked the western bor- 
der of the land occupied by the colonists. Of the great 
wilderness beyond the mountains, stretching westward 
to the Mississippi River, the northwestern part, from the 
Ohio River to the Great Lakes, was claimed by England 
as part of Canada ; in the southwestern part the boundary 
separating us from Louisiana and Florida was unsettled ; 
while the entire region was in the possession of Indian 
tribes ready to dispute their own claims against the 
world. About this time, however, settlers from Vir- 
ginia and the Carolinas began to pour through the moun- 
tain passes and to dot the fertile Western valleys with 
their, cabin homes. While the armies of Washington 
and Greene and other American leaders were fighting 
our country's battles east of the mountains these pioneers 
of the West were doing their part right nobly in the 
struggle. They kept the Indians from crossing the 
mountains to join the British armies in the Carolinas; 
they drove the savages farther westward, opening up 
the land to white settlement; they captured the few 
British forts in the West; and sometimes, leaving their 

homes, they crossed the mountains and fought the British 

178 



THE WINNINGS THE WEST 



179 



armies in the East. Among the pioneers who won for 
lis this Western region, thus doubling our country's size, 
three of the foremost were Daniel Boone, George Rogers 
Clark, and John Sevier. 

Boyhood of Daniel Boone. — Daniel Boone was two 
years younger than George Washington. He was born 
in Pennsylvania, but when a boy moved with his father's 
family to North Carolina. From the time that he could 
first handle a gun he was fond of hunting. Tall, slender, 
active, and strong, the longest mountain tramp never 
tired his iron mus- r- 

cles. In the rug- 
ged country of his 
boyhood home 
schools were few, 
so Daniel spent 
much of his time 
in the woods with 
his gun. Bear, 
deer, panther, 
squirrel, and turkey were the game he usually hunted. 
On his long hunting expeditions he sometimes crossed 
over to the western slope of the Alleghenies. Not 
long ago there was said to be still standing on the 
bank of the creek in what is now eastern Tennessee an 
old beech tree with some carving on the bark probably 
made by Boone himself. The letters — showing Boone 
to have been a better hunter than speller — read as fol- 
lows: "D. Boone cilled [killed] a bar on [this] tree 
in the year 1760." 

Boone Visits Kentucky — Having heard of some fine 




BOONE S FAVORITE GAME. 



180 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

hunting grounds far beyond the mountains, northwest of 
his home, Boone with five companions set out to visit 
the place. They traveled on foot. For five weeks they 
struggled on, climbing mountains and fording rivers. 
At last they came to the beautiful country now known as 
the "blue grass region" of Kentucky. Never before had 
they seen game in such abundance. There were great 
herds of buffalo and deer; bears, wolves, and panthers 
and other animals were plentiful. After a short stay 
Boone's companions returned home, but he himself re- 
mained to spend the winter in the hunting grounds. For 
three long months he was alone in the wilderness, with- 
out the companionship of even a dog or a horse, and often 
afraid to make a fire lest he should attract the notice of 
the Indians. It was two years after Boone started on 
this great hunting trip before he returned to his North 
Carolina home. His accounts of what he had seen made 
the Kentucky country famous all along the Virginia 
and Carolina border. 

The Settlement of Kentucky — Soon afterward Boone 
led a party of settlers into the Kentucky country. The 

road, or trail, they 
cut was the first 
path through the 
wilderness, an d 
w a s afterward 
known as "Boone's 
Trail." On the 

PLAN OF BOONE'S FORT. 11 r ^ Tr 

bank of the Ken- 
tucky River they built a fort. The fort was made of 
logs, and inclosed a space twice as long as broad, as 







THE WINNING OF THE WEST l8l 

shown in the picture. At each corner was a two-story 
log house with loop-holes to shoot from. For the wall 
of the fort, stout log cabins were arranged in straight 
lines at short intervals, the cabins being joined together 
by a high fence built of log posts sunk into the ground 
and firmly fastened together. The fort was entered 
through heavy wooden gates, that were closed with 
strong bars. In times of danger the cattle and horses 
were driven into the large open space within the fort. 

Boone Taken Captive. — Boone's fort was several times 
attacked by the Indians. Boone himself was once taken 
captive and was adopted as a son by a powerful chief. 
He was painted, decked with feathers, and dressed as 
an Indian, but all the while he was 'closely watched by 
his captors. He finally escaped and reached Boones- 
borough, as his fort was called, in time to prepare it for 
an attack which he had heard the savages planning. The 
Indians were beaten off, and Boonesborough was 
saved. 

Home Life in the West — Nowadays when a family 
moves from one part of the country to another they pack 
their furniture and bedding in wagons or on a freight car 
to be carried to their new home. But with Boone and the 
first settlers west of the Allegheny Mountains the case 
was far different. To ride horseback or to walk were 
the only modes of travel possible over the rough moun- 
tain paths. A few cooking utensils, some salt and corn, 
a few bottles of medicine, and perhaps a little coffee were 
all they could carry with them. So when their log cabins 
in the West had been built they had to begin housekeep- 
ing with no furniture. The bed was frequently a heap of 



l82 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

soft leaves piled in the corner with bearskins for blankets ; 
a rough table built against the wall and a few three- 
legged stools completed the furniture of the first settlers' 
cabins. For breakfast and supper they had journey cake, 
or "johnnycake," made of corn meal and baked in the 
hot ashes. Along with the johnnycake the pioneer boys 
and girls had sometimes a slice of venison or bear's meat, 
or honey from a bee tree, or syrup from a maple tree. 
The men and boys wore suits of warm bearskin. Their 
caps, too, were made of bearskin, ornamented sometimes 
with the tail of a fox for a plume. There were log 
schoolhouses and log meetinghouses, or churches. In 
most of the schools the only books were a Testament, 
a primer, a spelling book, and an arithmetic. Hides of 
animals took the place of money. Two coon skins 
were equal in value to one fox skin or wild-cat skin ; two 
fox skins, to one beaver skin, buckskin, or bearskin. 

The First Western State — After the close of the Revo- 
lutionary War there was a rush of settlers into the "over- 
mountain" country. x "Boone's Trail" became a fairly 
good wagon road, and boat loads of immigrants from the 
East came down the Ohio River. At last Virginia con- 
sented that her "county of Kentucky" should become a 
separate state. In 1792 the State of Kentucky took her 
place in the new Union — the first State formed west of 
the Alleghenies, and the fifteenth State in order, Ver- 
mont, the fourteenth State, having been formed from 
New York and New Hampshire the year before. 

Boone Moves Farther West — As Kentucky became 
more thickly settled Boone longed for the lonely life of 
a hunter that he had once enjoyed. So he pushed west- 



THE WINNING OF THE WEST 183 

ward, and finally crossed the Mississippi River. His old 
age was spent in the forests of southern Missouri. 

At the beginning of the Revolution who claimed the land between 
the Allegheny Mountains and the Mississippi River? W r hat did set- 
tlers from Virginia and the Carolinas do to win this region? Name 
three of the foremost of these Western pioneers. Tell about the 
boyhood of Daniel Boone; about Boone's first visit to Kentucky. 
What was "Boone's Trail"? Describe Boone's fort. Tell about 
Boone's capture by the Indians and his escape. How did the moving 
of a family of Kentucky settlers differ from the moving of a family 
to-day? Tell about the settlers' homes; their food; their clothing; 
schools and churches; money.. Tell about the progress of the Ken- 
tucky country after the Revolution ; the last days of Daniel Boone. 

GEORGE ROGERS CLARK, CONQUEROR 
OF THE NORTHWEST 

A Ball Interrupted — One warm July night in 1778, 
while General Washington was fighting his country's 
battles in the East, a ball was going on in the British 
fort at Kaskaskia, in what is now the State of Illinois. 
Kaskaskia was an old French settlement, and French 
youths and maidens from the village mingled gayly with 
the British soldiers in the fort. Through the grim open- 
ings in the wall bright lights now shone out into the 
darkness, and the sound of violin music and tripping 
feet was wafted upon the summer air. The sentinels, 
leaving the gates unguarded, were looking upon the gay 
scene or taking part in the dance. Suddenly a stranger 
entered an open gate, and made his way unnoticed by 
the merry throng to the great hall where the dancing 
was going on. Here he stopped and with folded arms 
leaned against a doorpost, gazing silently at the dancers 
whirling past. An Indian lying on the floor looked in- 



1 84 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 



tently in the stranger's face, then quickly sprang to his 
feet with an unearthly war whoop that rang out above 
the sounds of merriment. Instantly the dancing ceased. 
Women screamed, and men ran toward the door. The 
strange visitor alone showed no excitement. "Go on 
with your dance/' he shouted, "but remember that you 
are now dancing under Virginia, and not under Eng- 
land/' At the same time his followers, stationed out- 
side, rushed into the fort and seized the officers. 

Clark and His Bold Plan. — George Rogers Clark was 
the name of the American officer who had interrupted 
the dancing in the British fort. He was a young Vir- 
ginian who with Boone and other pioneers had made 
his home in the "county of Kentucky." England at that 

time claimed all the 
land between the 
Ohio River and the 
Great Lakes as part 
of Canada, and to 
hold it she had 
strong forts at De- 
troit (Michigan), 
Kaskaskia (Illinois), 
and Vincennes (In- 
diana). Virginia 
claimed the same re- 
gion because it had been given her by one of her early 
charters. Clark formed the bold plan of raising a small 
force to surprise and seize the British forts in the North- 
west, thereby taking the whole region from the British. 
Governor Patrick Henry, of Virginia, favored the plan, 




MAP OF CLARK'S ROUTE. 



THE WINNING OF THE WEST 185 

and furnished Clark with supplies and permitted him 
to enlist several companies of backwoodsmen. Clark's 
little army sailed down the Ohio nearly to its mouth 
(see map), then struck across the prairie to Kaskaskia. 
How they surprised and took the place has been told. 

The March to Vincennes. — When the people of 
Vincennes heard of Clark's victory at Kaskaskia they 
at once surrendered to his messenger who brought the 
news. During the winter, however, a British force from 
Canada occupied the place. Their intention was to go 
on and drive Clark back south of the Ohio. But Clark 
determined to strike first. It was two hundred and 
forty miles from Kaskaskia to Vincennes. Much of the 
country was overflowed from heavy rains, and was 
waist-deep in water. Nevertheless Clark and a little 
band of heroes started out to surprise their enemies. 
For days they marched through water sometimes up to 
their shoulders. They were in constant danger from 
the Indians. They could get no food on the way, and 
were so weak from hunger that they could scarcely 
walk. Any other leader would have turned back. But 
Clark cheered on his men, plunging in the water ahead 
of them and sharing every hardship. At last Vin- 
cennes was reached, and after a short struggle the fort 
was captured. 

What We Owe to Clark.— The capture of these 
British forts by Clark and his followers gave Virginia 
possession of the Northwest Territory. But for the 
heroism of George Rogers Clark the Ohio River instead 
of the Great Lakes might be to-day the southern bound- 
ary of British Canada. In later years Virginia gave up 



i86 




CLARK AND HIS MEN IN THE ICY WATER. 



THE WINNING OF THE WEST 187 

to the United States her claim to this great Northwest 
Territory. Out of it five splendid States have been 
carved — Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wis- 
consin. 

Tell about the ball in the British fort at Kaskaskia, and how the 
dancing was interrupted. Where is Kaskaskia? When did this ball 
take place? Tell all you can about the American officer who inter- 
rupted the ball. By whom was the land between the Ohio River and 
the Great Lakes claimed? Tell about Clark's plan and his journey to 
Kaskaskia; the effect that the news of Clark's success had upon the 
people of Vincennes; upon the British in Canada. Tell about Clark's 
march to Vincennes. What do we owe to George Rogers Clark? 
What changes in this territory afterward took place? 

JOHN SEVIER, THE STATE BUILDER 

A Ride Across the Mountains, and What Came of It 

In the spring of 1772, three years before the battle of 
Lexington and one year before Daniel Boone formed his 
first settlement in Kentucky, three horsemen crossed the 
mountains from southwestern Virginia into what is now 
Tennessee. Their purpose was to visit a new settle- 
ment on the Watauga River, on the western slope of the 
Alleghanies. One of the visitors was so pleased with 
what he saw that he decided to leave his comfortable 
Virginia home and join the frontiersmen in their little 
group of cabins on the Watauga. This man, then 
twenty-six years old, was John Sevier, the founder of 
the State of Tennessee. 

The First Government West of the Mountains One 

day not long after his arrival at the Watauga settlement 
Sevier saw a big, fierce-looking gambler take a horse 
away from a peaceable stranger, claiming he had won 
the animal in a bet. "Is there no law here to prevent 



1 88 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

such deeds ?" asked Sevier. "No," the frontiersmen re- 
plied, "but don't be uneasy; that rascal won't stay here 
long!" This did not satisfy Sevier. He got the peo- 
ple to meet and choose officers who should make laws, 
try offenders, and punish the guilty. Sevier himself was 
chosen one of the five judges, the youngest of the five. 
This government lasted several years, and was the first 
government formed west of the Alleghenies. 

Nancy Ward Saves the Settlements During the Rev- 
olution, British agents among the Indians were con- 
stantly trying to stir up the Western tribes to rise 
against the whites and join the British armies near the 
coast. But among the Cherokees was a woman, Nancy 
Ward by name, who was honored and feared by the 
red men because they believed she had the gift of 
prophecy. Fortunately, she was a firm friend of the 
whites ; often she visited the cabins and played with the 
little children. Many times Nancy Ward's warnings 
saved the settlers. All .honor to this Indian squaw, "the 
Pocahontas of Tennessee!" 

Katherine SherrilTs Foot Race. — One morning, while 
some of the women were outside the fort Watanga 
milking the cows, a band of Indians burst upon them. 
The women ran for their lives, and all except one got 
safely inside the gate. Katherine Sherrill was a tall, 
brown-eyed girl, straight as an arrow, and graceful as 
a deer. The Indians were between her and the gate of 
the fort. Katherine seeing she was cut off from the 
gate, ran toward the part of the wall nearest her. With 
all her might she jumped, grasped the top of the wall, 
and swung herself up. John Sevier was there to catch 



THE WINNING OF THE WEST 189 

her in his arms and help her down safe inside the fort. 
Not many years after her Indian foot race the swift- 
footed Katherine became the wife of John Sevier. 
Sevier led many expeditions against the Indians. He 
surprised them in their mountain homes and defeated 
them in every fight. 

Tennessee Becomes a State — John Sevier's home was 
on the Nolichucky River. "Chucky Jack" was the name 
he went by among the frontiersmen. He was feared by 
the Indians and loved by the white settlers. When he 
rode through a settlement men, women, and children 
ran to the road to see him and to shake his hand. Every 
year the number of settlements increased, and the In- 
dians were driven farther westward. Finally North 
Carolina agreed that her territory west of the moun- 
tains should become a separate State. So Tennessee 
came into the Union (1796), the second State formed 
west of the Alleghenies. John Sevier, the first gov- 
ernor, was six times chosen to the office. 

Alabama and Mississippi — Following the example of 
Virginia and North Carolina, Georgia gave up to the 
United States her western lands. Out of this territory 
the States of Mississippi (1817) and Alabama (1819) 
were afterward formed. 



Tell about John Sevier's first trip across the mountains: about the 
establishment of the first government west of the Alleghenies; about 
the efforts of the British to stir up the Indians against the settlers 
of the West; about Nancy Ward, and how she saved the settlements; 
about Katherine Sherrill's foot race: John Sevier's love for Katherine. 
What was Sevier's nickname? How did the Indians regard him? 
the whites? Tell about the formation of the State of Tennessee. 
What States were formed from the territory west of Georgia? 



CHAPTER XII 

The United States Government Formed 

President George Washington 

A New Constitution Adopted.— The "Articles of Con- 
federation/' which were adopted by the different states 
during the Revolution as our first constitution proved 
unsatisfactory. Our Congress could make laws, but 
there was no way to compel people to obey them. Con- 
gress could not tax the people, so there was no money 
to carry on the government unless the different States 
chose to grant money for this purpose. Seven years' 
trial of the Article proved to the people that a change 
must be made. So representatives from the different 
States met in Philadelphia to try to improve the Ar- 
ticles. George Washington was made president of the 
meeting, Benjamin Franklin, now an old man, was one 
of the members. After long discussion the present Con- 
stitution of the United States was agreed upon to take 
the place of the Articles of Confederation. The pro- 
posed Constitution was then sent out to the different 
States, and was approved by each of them. 

How the New Government Differed from the Old One. 
— The new Constitution provided for a Congress to make 
laws, but this Congress was composed of two bodies, or 
"houses," instead of one. One house, called the 

190 



THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT FORMED 19I 

"Senate/' is composed of two senators from each State; 
the other, called the "House of Representatives/' is com- 
posed of members chosen according to the population, 
the most populous States having the largest number of 
representatives. The Constitution also established a new 
office, that of "President of the United States/' It is the 
duty of the President to see that the laws of the United 




WASHINGTON ON HIS WAY TO BE INAUGURATED PRESIDENT. 



States are enforced, and, that he may better do this, he 
is made commander-in-chief of the army and navy. By 
the new Constitution also a Supreme Court of the 
United States and other courts were established to try 
violations of the laws of Congress and other cases that 
do not properly come before the courts of the States. 
Neither Congress nor the President can interfere with 



192 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

State affairs, but Congress is given power to lay taxes 
and to make laws on certain subjects which concern 
the people of all the States. 

The New Government Started. — The Constitution was 
accepted by the required number of States in the year 
1789, and the people at once began to select the officers of 
the new government. For the first President of the 
United States only one name was thought of — that of 
General George Washington. Every vote was cast for 
him. As he traveled on horseback from his Virginia 
home to New York City, which was then the capital of 
the United States, children threw flowers before him 
and the people everywhere along the roadside welcomed 
him with joyful shouts. Standing on the balcony of 
Federal Hall, in New York, while a great crowd filled 
the street in front of him, Washington solemnly prom- 
ised that he would faithfully perform his duties as Presi- 
dent, and would preserve, protect, and defend the Con- 
stitution of the United States. Then a mighty shout, 
"Long live George Washington, President of the United 
States!" rose from the multitude. 

President Washington — Washington was fifty-seven 
years old when he became President. Many difficult 
questions had to be settled that required a strong hand 
and a clear head. The people of western Pennsylvania 
refused to pay the tax on whisky levied by Congress. 
The President promptly ordered out troops and forced 
them to submit. The Indians in the Northwest made 
war upon the white settlers. Washington sent three 
armies against them and completely subdued them, driv- 
ing them still farther westward. The French tried very 



THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT FORMED 193 

hard to get us to help them in their war against England, 
but Washington steadfastly refused, believing our coun- 
try too young and feeble to enter upon a foreign war. 
In short, Washington, as President, met every difficulty 
wisely and well, just as he had met and overcome diffi- 
culties before when a surveyor in the wilderness of the 
Virginia frontier, when a soldier in the French War. and 
when a general in the Revolutionary War. 




Copyright Detroit Photo Co. 

MOUNT VERNON, THE HOME OF WASHINGTON. 

Death of Washington — When his four years' term of 
office was out the people again chose Washington Presi- 
dent, and they wanted to make him President a third 
time, but he would not permit it He retired to his home, 
Mount Vernon, in Virginia, on the bank of the Potomac, 
and there busied himself managing his large estate. 
Two years later (1799) he died. The whole country 
went into mourning. Washington has been called the 



194 



THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 



"father of his country," and he is remembered as the 
great American who was "first in war, first in peace, 
and first in the hearts of his fellow-citizens." 

The Capital Changed. — Soon after Washington became 
President the capital was moved from New York to 
Philadelphia. Ten years later ( 1800) it was removed to 
a spot selected by Washington on the north bank of the 




THE CAPITOL AT WASHINGTON. 



Potomac. Here a city was laid out in the woods, and 
was named Washington, in honor of the father of his 
country. The district in which the new city was to be 
built was given to the United States by the States of 
Maryland and Virginia, and in honor of the discoverer 
of America was called the District of Columbia. Vir- 
ginia's part of the gift, lying south of the Potomac, 



THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT FORMED 195 



was not needed, and was afterward returned to her. 
Washington is now one of the most beautiful cities in the 
world. 

Why so Little Cotton was Raised in Washington's 
Time — At the time that Washington became President 
shiploads of tobacco and rice from the Southern States 
crossed the ocean every year, but all the cotton sent over 
in a year amounted to not more than a dozen bags — 
hardly one bale. If Washington had traveled from Vir- 
ginia to Georgia he would have seen occasional small 
patches of cotton, but not a single large field of the plant. 
It did not pay to plant cotton, and there was very little 
of it raised anywhere in the world. The reason of this 
was that in those days the lint had to be picked from the 
seed by hand, and this was slow work. It took one per- 
son all day to pick out one or two pounds of cotton from 
the seed. Cotton cloth, which now costs ten cents a 

yard, then .cost one dollar 
and a half a yard. 

The Cotton Gin In- 
vented.— The people of 
Georgia were so grateful 
to General Greene for 
driving the British from 
the Southern States that 
they gave him a farm. 
Eli Whitney, a young 
school teacher from Mas- 
sachusetts, while staying 
for a while at the home of the Greenes in Georgia, 
mended an embroidery frame for Mrs. Greene. Mrs. 




THE FIRST COTTON GIN. 



196 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

Greene was delighted with his skill, and, not long after- 
ward, when some guests at her home were wishing 
that some easier and quicker way of separating cotton 
seed from the lint, could be found, she exclaimed, 
"Why, gentlemen, just ask my young friend, Mr. Whit- 
ney; he can do anything!" Whitney set his brains to 
thinking, and soon had invented a machine which we 
call the "cotton gin" (cotton engine). 

What the Cotton Gin Did for the South.— With the 
cotton gin one man can clean as much cotton as one 
hundred men could clean with their hands. Cotton at 
once became the best-paying crop in the South. South- 
ern planters hastened to buy as many slaves as possible 
to work in the cotton fields. Cotton cloth came into 
general use, and mills were built in the Northern States 
to make the Southern cotton into cloth. Ships had to 
be built to carry American cotton to Europe. Instead 
of a few bags of cotton the Southern States now raise 
every year over 10,000,000 bales. In many ways the 
invention of the cotton gin has had a great influence 
upon the life of our people and the history of our 
country. 

Tell about the election of the first President; his inauguration. 
Mention three difficult subjects he had to deal with. How did he 
meet the difficulties of the President's office? What shows how the 
people liked his course as President? How was the news of his death 
received? What change of capital was made while Washington was 
President^ Tell about the selection of a spot for our present 
capital; its name; the district in which it is situated. In Washington's 
time what were the great crops of the South? What can you say of 
the amount of cotton raised then? Why was this? Tell about the 
invention of the cotton gin. What were some of the effects of this 
invention? 



CHAPTER XIII 

The United States Doubles Its Size 
Thomas Jefferson, Statesman and President 

Thomas Jefferson Starts on a Journey — You remember 
that near the close of the French War Colonel George 
Washington went with his bride to Williamsburg to 

take his seat as a member of the 
House of Burgesses of the Vir- 
ginia colony. In that same 
year a Virginia boy, who, like 
Washington, afterward became 
famous in his country's history, 
set out from his home for the 
town of Williamsburg, to enter 
the College of William and 
Mary. Thomas Jefferson was 
the name of the youthful seeker 
after knowledge. His home 
was near the foot of the moun- 
tains, in what was then the far 
West of the Virginia settle- 
ments. It was a long ride to the capital of the colony, 
but our young traveler had a strong, active body that 
was not easily tired. From his earliest boyhood he had 
been trained by his father to swim, to shoot, to ride, to 

197 




JEFFERSON. 



198 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

climb. And then the journey was made easy by frequent 
stops at the hospitable homes on the way. 

Jefferson Spends a Merry Christmas — Having started 
on his journey in December, the Christmas holidays 
found young Jefferson a guest at one of the homes on 
the road. Among the other Christmas visitors was a 
gay, rollicking young fellow named Patrick Henry. 
Henry had kept a country store, but had* recently failed 
in business, and had not yet decided what to do next. 
His failure, however, did not make him sad. By his 
funny stories, his fiddling, dancing, and jokes, he kept 
the young people of the company in constant laughter. 
Jefferson, being himself a good violinist, and fond of 
pleasant company, was much attracted to the merry 
fiddler. 

Jefferson at College. — The Christmas season over, Jef- 
ferson continued his journey to Williamsburg. He had 
been so diligent in his previous school work that he was 
well advanced in his studies, and entered a high class in 
college. He was now not quite seventeen years old, tall, 
slender, sandy-haired. He studied hard, yet he did not 
neglect regular exercise. Every evening at twilight he 
took a run of a mile. Thus, while improving his mind 
he kept his body strong. He spent many pleasant even- 
ings at the home of the governor, where his skill with the 
violin made the young student a welcome visitor. Two 
years after entering college he was graduated. 

Thomas Jefferson's Home — Like George Washington, 
Thomas Jefferson in early boyhood, had to mourn the 
death of his father. Being the eldest son, Thomas then 
assisted his widowed mother in the management of their 



THE UNITED STATES DOUBLES ITS SIZE 199 

large wheat and tobacco plantation. There were no 
pianos or organs in the homes of that time. Yet 
Thomas and his eldest sister had fine voices, and to the 
accompaniment of the brother's violin they made their 
home musical with the latest songs as well as with the 
old familiar hymns. As a schoolboy Jefferson was 
timid, yet fond of play. He was a hard student, and al- 
ways ranked among the first in his classes. After he 




Copyright Detroit Photo Co. 

MONTICELLO, THE HOME OF JEFFERSON. 

grew to manhood the home, "Shadwell," in which he 
had been born and where he had lived with his mother 
and sisters and little brother, burned to the ground. 
Nearly everything in the house, including Jefferson's 
books and papers, "was lost. Thomas was absent at the 
time. The negro boy who brought him the bad news 
added with a joyful grin that his master's fiddle was 
saved. Jefferson then began to build the house which 



200 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

was his home until his death, and near which his body is 
buried. He called the new home "Monticello," or "Lit- 
tle Mountain/' from its situation on a beautiful height 
near the town of Charlottesville. 

Jefferson Studies Law and Listens to a Great Speech. — 
After graduating at William and Mary College, Jeffer- 
son returned to Williamsburg to study law. It hap- 
pened about this time that the news of the passage of 
the Stamp Act reached Virginia, and the burgesses at 
once began to discuss the measure. Young Jefferson 
entered the hall and stood near the door to hear what 
was said. His gay fiddle-playing acquaintance, Patrick 
Henry, who had surprised everybody by studying law 
and becoming a successful lawyer, was now a member 
of the House and took part in the debate. Henry's burn- 
ing words startled the assembly. He declared that not 
the king of England, nor Parliament, but the Virginia 
burgesses alone, had the right to tax Virginians. Then, 
speaking of the injustice of King George III, he cried 
out, in a voice of thunder, "Ceasar had his Brutus, 
Charles the First his Cromwell, and George the Third 
— " At this point many members, thinking he was going 
to threaten the death of the King, sprang to their feet 
and interrupted his speech with loud shouts of "Trea- 
son!" "Treason!" But Henry with pale face and flash- 
ing eyes waited till the uproar had ceased, then finished 
by saying, "George the Third may profit by their ex- 
amples. If this be treason, make the most of it!" Young 
Jefferson never forgot this scene. He said it seemed 
to him that Patrick Henry spoke as eloquently as the 
great poet Homer wrote. 



THE UNITED STATES DOUBLES ITS SIZE 201 

Jefferson in Public Life.— Not long after he began the 
practice of law Jefferson himself became one of the Vir- 
ginia burgesses. Then he was sent to Congress. He 
was not a good speaker, but he was a fine writer. He 
favored the Revolution, and was appointed with several 
others to write the Declaration of Independence. The 
other members of the committee asked Jefferson to write 
it. He did so, and the great Declaration prepared by 
him was signed by the members of Congress on the 4th 
of July, 1776. Jefferson was a great believer in equal 
rights for all citizens. Among the laws of Virginia 
which he succeeded in getting passed was one giving 
religious freedom to all the people. He followed Patrick 
Henry as governor of Virginia during the Revolution- 
ary War. After the war Congress sent him to France 
as American minister. When General Washington be- 
came President he made Jefferson his Secretary of State. 
He was Vice-President of the United States under Presi- 
dent John Adams. In 1800 he was elected President of 
the United States, and during his administration pur- 
chased from France the great Louisiana territory 
extending from the Mississippi River to the Rocky 
Mountains (page 205). 

Death of Jefferson — Adams, the second President, and 
Jefferson, the third, both lived to be old men. Strange 
to say, they both died on the same day, and that day the 
4th of July, 1826 — just fifty years from the day on which 
Jefferson's great work, the Declaration of Independence, 
was signed. On his tombstone at Monticello are carved 
the words which before his death he asked to be placed 
there. These words tell three great deeds of his life by 
which he wished to be remembered. They read as fol- 
lows: 



202 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 



Here was buried 

Gbomaa 3effer6on t 

AUTHOR OF 
THE DECLARATION OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE, 

OF THE 
STATUTE OF VIRGINIA FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, 

AND 
FATHER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA. 



Mention two famous Virginians who went to Williamsburg the 
same year, near the close of the French War. What was the purpose 
of each? Tell about Thomas Jefferson's journey; the merry Christ- 
mas he spent on the way ; his life as a college student. What sorrow 
befell Jefferson when a boy? Tell about Jefferson's boyhood; the 
huming of his home ; the home he afterward built What did Jeffer- 
son do after graduating? Tell about the great speech which he 
heard. To what different offices was Jefferson chosen? What great 
paper did he write while in Congress? What law of Virginia did 
lie write? Tell about his death; the words on his tombstone. What 
other achievement might have been recorded on his tomb? 

WE PURCHASE OUR FIRST NEW TERRITORY 

Why We Wanted the Mouth of the Mississippi. — Who 

should own the land at the mouth of the Mississippi was 
an all-important question to the settlers of the Western 
region won by Clark, Boone, Sevier, and their com- 
rades. There were no cities west of the Alleghenies, 
and the only market for American crops was in the At- 
lantic States or in Europe. But railroads had not been 
dreamed of, and there were not even good wagon roads 
across the mountains; the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers 
then became the great highways of Western commerce. 






THE UNITED STATES DOUBLES ITS SIZE 



203 



Boat loads of wheat, corn, hides, and other produce 
floated down these rivers to New Orleans, and were 
there loaded upon ships to be carried to the markets of 
the world. When Thomas Jefferson became President, 
France owned not only the land on the west bank of the 
Mississippi, but near the mouth of the stream she owned 
both banks. It would be easy for the guns of her forts 




FREIGHT WAGON OF JEFFERSON S TIME THAT MADE THE TRIP 
FROM PHILADELPHIA TO NEW YORK IN TWENTY DAYS. 



at New Orleans to stop any ship passing in or out of the 
river, or to make them pay a tax for the privilege of 
passing. The Western farmers were determined that 
their road to market should not be interfered with, so 
they insisted that the United States should in some way 
get possession of the land around New Orleans. 

How France Came to Sell. — President Jefferson sent 
one of our citizens to France to urge that country to 
sell us New Orleans and the region around the mouth of 
the Mississippi. France at that time was engaged in a 
European war, and needed money. She feared that her 



204 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

enemy England would attack Louisiana. She also knew 
that hardy American frontiersmen had already begun 
to cross the Mississippi into her possessions, and with 
their ideas of liberty and independence they might give 
her trouble. So she offered to sell President Jefferson 
not only New Orleans, but her whole Louisiana Terri- 
tory. The price she named, fifteen million dollars, we 
gladly paid (1803). Nowhere was there greater joy 
over our bargain than among the farmers of Tennes- 
see, Kentucky, and Ohio. 

The " Louisiana' ' We Bought — The Louisiana which 
we bought was the western half of the Louisiana named 
by La Salle and claimed by him for France a hundred 
and twenty years before. Beginning with the present 
State of Louisiana, it extended northward to the source 
of the Mississippi and northwestward to the Rocky 
Mountains. By buying it President Jefferson more than 
doubled the size of the United States. Ten great States 
and a large part of four others, have been formed from 
the "Louisiana Purchase." (See map, page 248.) 

Exploring Our New Purchase. — Most of the Louisiana 
Purchase had never been visited by a white man, and 
was less known to the people of the United States than 
is the north pole to-day. Many strange stories were told 
about this Western country. It was said that near the 
Rocky Mountains lived a tribe of Indian giants ; that in 
the far West was a mountain of pure salt a hundred and 
eighty miles long with brooks of salt water running 
down its sides. President Jefferson determined to find 
out the truth about our new possession. He sent out an 
exploring party under two captains, Meriwether Lewis 






THE UNITED STATES DOUBLES ITS SIZE 



205 



and William Clark (brother of George Rogers Clark). 
These explorers were to follow the Missouri River to 
its source, to cross the Rocky Mountains and to descend 
the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean. 

The Expedition of Lewis and Clark — The party started 
up the Missouri River in one large boat driven by 
sails and oars and in two smaller rowboats. Their boats 
were loaded with food, such as coffee, sugar, crackers, 
and dried meat, with clothing and tools, and with pres- 
ents of beads, 
blankets, and 
knives for the 
Indians. The 
explorers left St. 
Louis in the 
spring. By the 
end of summer 
they reached the 
Platte River. 
Here on a bluff 
they held a coun- 
cil with the In- 
dians, and called 

the place Council Bluffs. Late in the autumn they had 
reached what is now the State of South Dakota. They 
decided to go into camp for the winter. So they landed 
on an island in the river on which there was plenty of tim- 
ber, and began to cut down trees for their winter huts. 
In the spring they started again. At last the current of 
the river became so swift that they could not use their 
boats. An Indian guide was found who led the men, 





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A MOUNTAIN TRAIL IN THE COUNTRY 
TRAVERSED BY LEWIS AND CLARK. 



206 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

tired, foot-sore, and half-starved, across the Rocky 
Mountains. Coming to a river, they built new boats and 
began to descend the stream. It brought them to the 
Columbia. Their voyage down this river took several 
weeks, and it was late in autumn when they heard the 
roar of the waves of the Pacific, and felt that their 
long journey was ended. They spent the winter on the 
Pacific coast, and the following spring started on their 
homeward journey. They reached St. Louis two years 
and four months after they had set out. 

Results of the Work of Lewis and Clark The account 

of their journey written by Captains Lewis and Clark 
was eagerly read. People began to realize the great 
value of the Louisiana Purchase. The "Great West" 
lay now beyond the Mississippi instead of beyond the 
Alleghenies. In exploring the Columbia River, Lewis 
and Clark had strengthened our title to the Oregon 
country beyond the mountains. The United States al- 
ready had a claim to Oregon on account of the visit of 
an American ship to the mouth of that river thirteen 
years before. 

Why was the question of the ownership of the land at the mouth of 
the Mississippi so important to the settlers west of the Alleghenies? 
When Jefferson became President who owned this land? What did 
the Western farmers demand? What induced France to sell us 
Louisiana? What was the price paid? What can you say of the 
size of the "Louisiana" President Jefferson bought? Tell how little 
was known of our new purchase. What exploring party did Presi- 
dent Jefferson send out? What were they directed to do? Tell 
about the expedition. What were some of the results of the work 
of Lewis and Clark? 



THE UNITED STATES DOUBLES ITS SIZE 207 

WE TEACH THE PIRATES OF AFRICA A LESSON 

How the Pirates Treated Our People — The Revolu- 
tionary War proved how well we could defend ourselves 
against foreign armies on our own soil. About twenty 
years later, while Thomas Jefferson was President, we 
had a chance to show the world that we were ready and 
able to take care of our people and our flag in distant 
parts of the earth. The northern coast of Africa was 
the home of pirates who made a business of capturing 
the ships of other countries. The sailors and passen- 
gers of the captured ships were thrown into prison or 
made to work as slaves. They were cruelly treated, be- 
ing poorly fed, and for the slightest offense severely 
punished. Unless their friends were able to pay the 
pirates a large sum for their ransom the poor captives 
had to spend the rest of their days in slavery. Every 
year American ships were captured by the pirates and 
American citizens made captive 

The United States Decides to Punish the Pirates — The 
nations of Europe were in the habit of paying the pirates 
in advance every year not to attack their ships. The 
United States did so for a while; then we determined 
to use powder and lead instead of gold to make the 
pirates respect our flag, and stop their outrageous con- 
duct toward our ships. President Jefferson sent four 
ships of war to the Mediterranean Sea to protect our 
merchant vessels. Our little fleet captured several 
pirate ships and took a number of prisoners. 

Lieutenant Decatur's Brave Deed One of our war= 

ships, the Philadelphia, while chasing a pirate vessel* 



208 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

stuck fast on a rock in the harbor of Tripoli, and had to 
surrender. The crew of the Philadelphia were thrown 
into prison, and the ship itself was added to the pirate 
fleet. As we could not recapture our ship a bold plan 
was formed to destroy it. Lieutenant Decatur, com- 
manding a small vessel he had captured a short time be- 
fore, sailed into the harbor by night, and ran alongside 
the Philadelphia before the enemy discovered that his 
crew were Americans. Then his men sprang on board 
the Philadelphia, killed or chased overboard the pirate 
crew, set fire to the ship, and sailed away in the light of 
the flames without the loss of a man. 

The Pirates Promise to Respect Our Flag After this 

our fleet bombarded the pirate capital, and at the same 
time we sent a force to attack the city by land. The 
ruler of the pirates then begged for peace and promised 
to make a treaty by which he would let our ships alone 
without being paid for it. Thus the young government 
of the United States gave notice to the world that ships 
flying the Stars and Stripes would be protected on what- 
ever waters they sailed. 

Tell about how the pirates of Africa treated our people in President 
Jefferson's time. What were European nations in the habit of doing? 
What did the United States at last decide to do? What steps did 
President Jefferson take to protect our ships? Tell about Lieutenant 
Decatur's brave deed; the defeat of the pirates. By this war what 
did we show the world ? 



CHAPTER XIV 



The War for the Freedom of Our Seamen 

Andrew Jackson, Soldier and President 

The War of 1812. The Purchase of Florida 

Andrew Jackson's Boyhood — When the Revolutionary 
War began Mrs. Jackson, a widow, was living with her 
two sons in a log cabin in the backwoods of North Caro- 
lina. Andrew, the younger of the boys, was at that 

time eight years old. The 
little family was very poor. 
The boys went to school in a 
log cabin in the woods. But 
as they had to work hard to 
help their mother make a liv- 
ing, and as their home was in 
the path of the British army, 
they could not stay long at 
school, so did not learn much 
in their books. Once the 
boys were captured by British 
soldiers, and Andrew was or- 
dered by an officer to clean his 
muddy boots. Andrew re- 
fused to obey, and the angry officer struck him with a 
sword, leaving a scar that he bore the rest of his life. 
Both boys were thrown into prison, where they took the 
smallpox. They recovered from the smallpox, but An- 

209 




ANDREW JACKSON, 



2IO THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

drew's brother died soon after he was released from 
prison. Before the war ended Andrew's mother died, 
leaving him, a boy of fourteen, alone in the world. 

Jackson Moves to Tennessee, and is Elected to Office. — 
Andrew tried supporting himself by making saddles and 
harness; then by keeping a country store; finally he 
studied law and became a lawyer. He moved to Ten- 




JACKSON REFUSING TO BLACK A BRITISH OFFICER S BOOTS. 



nessee, and though he knew little about law, yet his 
knowledge of human nature and his rough honesty made 
him popular, and he was elected judge. Afterward the 
people of Tennessee elected him to Congress. Jackson 
was a strong-willed man with a high temper that fre- 
quently got him into fights. 
Beginning of Our Second War with England — When 



THE WAR FOR THE FREEDOM OF OUR SEAMEN 211 

Andrew Jackson was about forty-five years old our coun- 
try had another war with England. This war is often 
called the War of 1812 because it began in that year. 
For some time England and France had been fighting 
each other. In order to injure her enemy, England 
passed a law that no American ship should trade with 
France or with any country allied to France. France 
then made a law that no American ship should trade 
with England or with any of her colonies. Both France 
and England claimed the right to seize any of our ships 
caught violating these laws. As England had a far 
stronger navy than France she seized more of our ships 
than France did, and caused us greater loss. Besides, 
this, English officers would force their way on board our 
ships, and if they found one of our sailors whom they 
believed to be an Englishman they would take him off 
with them. Often these officers refused to listen to our 
men. Thousands of native-born Americans were thus 
seized and made to serve on English ships. At last we 
decided to make England stop her insults; in the year 
1812 we declared war against her. 

Perry's Victory on Lake Erie — Most of the land battles 
of the war were fought on the Canadian frontier. Our 
armies made several attempts to invade Canada, but they 
met with poor success. Yet we were able to keep the 
British armies from getting very far into our own terri- 
tory. The most important battle in this region was 
fought on Lake Erie. The British fleet on the lake was 
commanded by an experienced officer who had served in 
European wars. The commander of the American fleet, 
Captain Oliver H. Perry, was a young man who had 



212 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 




PERRY S VICTORY ON LAKE ERIE. 



never before been in a naval battle. From the mast of 
Perry's ship floated a blue flag bearing in large white 
letters the words, "Don't give up the ship !" These were 
the last words of the brave American captain, Law- 
rence, who had been killed in a naval battle on the At- 
lantic a few 
months before. 
Perry's ship was 
attacked by two of 
the enemy's ves- 
sels, and all on 
board except him- 
self and a few oth- 
ers were killed or 
wounded. After 
helping to fire the 

last gun he jumped into a boat, carrying his flag with 
him, and started for another one of his ships which was 
yet unhurt. Showers of cannon balls and musket shot 
fell around his little boat, but it made the passage safely. 
Perry climbed on deck, flung his blue flag to the breeze, 
and in fifteen minutes every British ship had sur- 
rendered. 

Jackson's Victory at New Orleans. — On the Atlantic 
Ocean our seamen won the admiration of the world by 
many glorious victories. On land, however, the British 
were generally successful. Washington City was cap- 
tured, and our Capitol was burned. The British then 
prepared to take New Orleans. Fifty ships carrying 
twelve thousand men sailed to attack the city. Andrew 
Jackson was sent to defend this place. A short time be- 






THE WAR FOR THE FREEDOM OF OUR SEAMEN 21 3 

fore this Jackson had won a great victory over the Creek 
Indians of Alabama, and he was now "General" Jack- 
son. His little army at New Orleans was only half as 
large as that of the British. Nevertheless he hastily 
made a long breastwork of earth and cotton bales, and 
behind this calmly awaited the enemy. When the Brit- 




THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS, 



ish soldiers came within shot of Jackson's Kentucky and 
Tennessee riflemen there was a sheet of flame from the 
earthworks, and the long line of redcoats melted away. 
Again and again they tried to reach our breastworks, but 
in vain. Their defeat was a severe one. The British 
general and more than two thousand of his men were 
killed. In the American army there were only eight 



214 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

men killed and thirteen wounded. This last battle of 
the war was fought in 1815. The 8th of January (the 
day of the victory) has since been celebrated as a holi- 
day by the people of Louisiana, and Jackson is known as 
the "hero of New Orleans/' 

The War Ended — Two weeks before the battle of New 
Orleans both sides signed a treaty of peace in the city of 
Ghent, in Europe ; but we on this side of the water knew 
nothing of it. There were no telegraphs and railroads 
in those days, and steamboats had not yet dared to 
cross the ocean. On the day of the battle a ship bearing 
the news of peace was slowly plowing her way through 
the waves in the middle of the Atlantic, with nothing 
but the wind against her outspread sails to drive her on- 
ward. When she at last reached our shores we realized 
that the battle of New Orleans need never have been 
fought. We gained what we fought for in the war. 
Though England made no promises in the treaty, she has 
never since tried to seize our ships or arrest our seamen. 
The nations of Europe began to respect us as they never 
had done before. 

Purchase of Florida. — After the Creek Indians of Ala- 
bama were defeated by General Jackson many of them 
fled to Florida and joined the Seminole tribe of that sec- 
tion. Led by their chief, "Billy Bowlegs," these Indians 
made raids into Georgia, driving off cattle, stealing 
slaves, and murdering settlers. General Jackson was 
sent against them. "Old Hickory," as the people called 
him, made short work of the Indians. He quickly chased 
them out of Georgia into Florida. Florida at that time 
belonged to Spain, and an American army had no right 



THE WAR FOR THE FREEDOM OF OUR SEAMEN 



215 




UNITED STATES AFTER THE PURCHASE 
OF FLORIDA. 



to cross her frontier while the two nations were at 
peace. But our fiery general followed the Indians far 
into the Spanish territory and captured the chief vil- 
lage of the sav- 
ages. He seized 
several Spanish 
forts, and hung 
two white men and 
two Indian chiefs 
for stirring up the 
Seminoles. The 
President of the 
United States, on 
inquiring into the 
affair, gave back 
the forts to Spain. 
But Spain now decided that she was willing to sell a ter- 
ritory which seemed likely to get her into trouble with 
the United States. We were glad to buy ; so a bargain 
was made. For five million dollars Spain sold Florida. 
At the same time we gave up our claim to Texas as a 
part of the Louisiana Purchase, and Spain gave up her 
claim to the Oregon country. 

Jackson President of the United States In 1828 An- 
drew Jackson was elected President of the United States. 
He was the first President whose home was west of the 
Allegheny Mountains. He was the first man, too, who 
had risen from a poor boy to the highest office in our 
country. While he was President there was bitter dis- 
puting among our citizens over some great public ques- 
tions : one, whether there should be a United States bank 



2l6 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

in which to put United States money ; another, as to how 
great a tax, or tariff, should be placed on goods brought 
into this country. Jackson, as we might expect from his 
fiery nature, took a leading part in these disputes. Yet 
the people thought he made a good President, for when 
his first term expired they elected him a second time. At 
the close of his second term as President he went back to 
his home in Tennessee. He died in 1845, an old man oi 
seventy-eight years. 

Tell about the boyhood home of Andrew Jackson ; about the treat- 
ment of Andrew and his brother by British soldiers. What did 
Andrew do for a living? Where did he go from North Carolina? 
How was he liked in his new home? What sort of disposition did 
he have. Tell how our second war with England began. Where 
did most of the land battles of this war take place? Tell about the 
battle on Lake Erie. What can you say of the success of the British 
in the land battles ? Tell about the battle of New Orleans. Why was 
the battle of New Orleans unnecessary ? What was the result of the 
War of 1812? Tell how Indians from Florida annoyed the 
people of Georgia. Who was sent against these Indians ? What did 
Jackson do? Tell about our purchase of Florida. To what high 
office was General Jackson finally chosen? How did he differ from 
preceding Presidents? What public questions came up while he was 
President ? When and where did he die ? 






CHAPTER XV 

Three Great Inventions 

The Steamboat 

Difficulties of Travel One Hundred Years Ago — When 
Washington was President, although our country was 
then less than half its present size, as much time was 
required to travel across the United States as it takes to 
go around the world to-day. Travel was so slow, un- 




3 * dv g 



STAGECOACH IN WHICH OUR GRANDFATHERS TRAVELED. 

comfortable, and expensive that no one dreamed of 
traveling for pleasure. Most journeys had to be made 
on horseback. Between the largest towns stagecoaches 
carrying mail and passengers passed two or three times 
a week. The trip from Baltimore to New York cost 
twenty-one dollars and required four days. At the 
hotels along the road the traveler spending the night 

217 



2l8 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

would probably have to share his room with four or five 
others. Water journeys were as slow and uncomfort- 
able as land journeys. It took a week for sailing ves- 
sels on the Hudson River to travel the hundred and fifty 
miles from New York to Albany; and passengers on the 
boats had to furnish their own bedding and food. When 
we bought Louisiana many persons thought it would be 
impossible for our government to control such a vast ter- 
ritory. They declared that the United States would 
soon separate into several smaller republics. This re- 
sult would probably have happened had it not been for 
three great inventions that have brought Maine and 
Texas nearer together than Maine and Massachusetts 
were one hundred years ago. These inventions — two 
of them by Americans — were the steamboat, the rail- 
road, and the telegraph. 

The First Successful Steamboat One August day in 

the year 1807 a great crowd had assembled on the bank 
of the Hudson River in the city of New York. A steam- 
boat, the first that ever appeared on the Hudson, was to 
make its trial trip. A short time before this there had 
been two attempts in different parts of the United States 
to make boats that could be propelled by steam. But 
neither attempt had been successful ; the boats moved too 
slowly, and it cost too much to run them. The crowd 
that now lined the banks of the Hudson fully expected 
to see another failure. They made much fun of "Ful- 
ton's Folly/' as they jeeringly called the queer-looking 
boat, with its two great paddle wheels at its sides, with 
its tall smokestack, and with its masts and sails besides. 
Directly clouds of smoke mingled with sparks began to 



THREE GREAT INVENTIONS 



219 



pour from the smokestack. Then the great paddle 
wheels began to turn, and the boat started off. Those 
who had come to make fun were now silent in wonder. 
Then as the speed increased and showers of spray were 
thrown up by the uncovered wheels the little crew on 
the boat caught the sound of cheers from the shore. 
Straight up the river the boat continued, making the 




fulton's steamboat, the clermont. 

hundred and fifty miles to Albany in thirty-two hours. 
The return trip was made in thirty hours. "Fulton's 
Folly" was now Fulton's Success. 

Robert Fulton, the Inventor — Robert Fulton, the in- 
ventor of the steamboat, was born in Pennsylvania. He 
was ten years old when the Revolutionary War began. 
As a boy at school he was fond of drawing. He had 
great talent for making things. When he wanted a 
pencil he hammered one out of lead; he made his own 
fireworks for the 4th of July. The boat which he and 



220 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

his playmates used in fishing was pushed along with 
poles. This was tiresome work, so Robert contrived 
some paddle wheels turned by a crank to propel it. 
When he was seventeen years old he went to Phila- 
delphia and supported himself by painting pictures. He 
saved enough money to go to Europe. Then he gave up 
his painting, for he liked machinery better than pictures. 
He invented a torpedo for blowing up vessels of war. 
He also invented a diving boat, to move under water. 

Fulton's Efforts to Make a Steamboat All the time 

that he was working on other things, however, Fulton 
was trying to plan a boat that could be moved by steam. 
He formed a partnership with Livingston, a wealthy and 
influential New Yorker. In France, Fulton and Liv- 
ingston built a steamboat on the Seine. Before it could 
be tried its heavy engine broke the boat in two, and the 
vessel sank to the bottom. It was fished up and re- 
paired. On trial the boat moved, but so slowly that the 
spectators thought it a failure. Fulton saw how he could 
improve it, and at once set to work planning another 
boat to make a trial trip on the Hudson River in his own 
country. He called this boat the Clermont — the name 
of his friend Livingston's home. The successful trip of 
this boat from New York to Albany has been described. 

Improvements in the Steamboat — After this the build- 
ing of steamboats went on rapidly. Four years after 
the launching of the Clermont the first steamboat ap- 
peared on the Mississippi. This boat was built at Pitts- 
burg by Fulton and Livingston, and went from Pitts- 
burg to New Orleans in fourteen days. In 1819 the 
first voyage across the ocean was made by a steamship. 



THREE GREAT INVENTIONS 



221 



In this year the Savannah, from Savannah, Georgia, 
crossed to Liverpool, and from there went to St. Peters- 
burg, stopping in Denmark and Sweden. The Swedish 
king offered one hundred thousand dollars for the vessel, 
but his offer was refused. Many of the first steamboats 
had sails to help them along. In later years instead of 
paddle wheels ocean steamers are moved by screw pro- 
pellers which turn under the water at the stern of the 
ship. 

Modern Steamboats. — One of the largest steamboats in 
the world to-day is the Mauritania, an ocean steam- 
ship seven hundred and eighty-eight feet long, and 




Copyright Detroit Photo Co. 

-IT BROUGHT THE FIRST LOAD OF OUR 
VICTORIOUS ARMY BACK FROM FRANCE 



THE "MAURETANIA" 



able to carry twenty-one hundred persons. The speed of 
a modern ocean steamer is from twenty to twenty-five 
miles an hour, though there are smaller vessels that can 
move at the rate of thirty to forty miles an hour. The 
passenger steamer of to-day has all the comforts and 
conveniences of an elegant hotel, such as spacious din- 



222 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

ing rooms, parlors, pianos, library, baths, and electric 
lights. 

Why was there no traveling for pleasure in Washington's time? 
Give some examples of the difficulties of travel by land; by water. 
What did some people declare would be the result of the purchase 
of Louisiana? Name three inventions that helped to prevent such 
a result. When and where was the first successful steamboat tried? 
Tell about the trial trip of this boat. Who was the inventor? Tell 
about his boyhood; how he first supported himself; his first inven- 
tions ; his efforts to make a steamboat ; the first steamboat on the 
Mississippi; the first steamboat voyage across the ocean; improve- 
ments in the steamboat. 



THE RAILROAD 

An Early American. Railroad. — In a schoolbook called 
'Peter Parley's First Book of History, which your great- 
grandfathers and great-grandmothers studied when they 
were children, is the 
following interesting 
information about 
Baltimore, Mary- 
land: 

"But the most curi- 
ous thing at Balti- 
more is the railroad. 
,1 must tell you that 
there is a great trade 
between Baltimore 

and the States west of the Allegheny Mountains. 
There is therefore a vast deal of traveling back and 
forth, and hundreds of teams are constantly occu- 
pied in transporting goods and produce to and from 




FIRST RAILROAD IN THE UNITED STATES. 



THREE GREAT INVENTIONS 



223 



market. Now, to carry on all this business more easily, 
the people are building what is called a railroad. This 
consists of iron bars laid along the ground, and made 
fast, so that carriages with small wheels may run along 
upon them with facility. In this way one horse will 
be able to draw as much as ten horses on a common road. 
A part of this railroad is already done, and if you choose 
to take a ride upon it you can do so. You will mount a 
car something like a stage, and then you will be drawn 
along by two horses, at the rate of twelve miles an hour." 
This railroad, the "Baltimore and Ohio," was opened in 
1830, and continued to use horse power until the road 
was finished to the town of Frederick, sixty-one miles 
distant, in 1832. 

The First Locomotive — While Robert Fulton was 
planning his first steamboat English inventors were 
working on the problem of how to make a steam wagon. 




ONE OF THE FIRST PASSENGER TRAINS. 

During our war of 181 2 George Stephenson, an English 
coal digger, invented the first successful steam locomo- 
tive. Fifteen years later, or about the time the Balti- 
more and Ohio horse-power railroad was opened, loco- 
motives began to be tried in the United States. The 
first engines were no larger than a hand car of the pres- 
ent day, and had a boiler about the size of a flour barrel. 



224 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

The first passenger trains, as the picture shows, looked 
quite different from those with which we are familiar. 

Discomforts of Railroad Travel.— Travel on these 
trains could not have been very pleasant. As rich pine 
wood was used for fuel there were clouds of black smoke 
and showers of burning cinders. Nor did the engines 
then have any contrivance to catch the sparks. Conse- 
quently the passengers were kept busy dodging cinders 
and putting out the fire in their clothes ; at the end of a 
journey they looked as though they had spent a day in a 
blacksmith shop. There were no sleeping cars. At 
night the coaches, with their hard, straight-backed seats, 
were dimly lighted with tallow candles. One of the 
first railroad accidents happened in South Carolina. 
A Negro fireman on a locomotive in the absence of the 
engineer, determined to stop the noisy hissing sound 
made by the steam escaping from the safety valve; so 
he fastened down the valve, and, to hold it more firmly, 
saX on it himself. The boiler exploded and the fireman 
was killed. After this accident passengers refused to 
ride on this road unless there was a freight car loaded 
with cotton bales between them and the engine. 

Railroads To-day. — Railroads now cross our country in 
every direction from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from 
Canada to Mexico. They have built up our great West 
bringing in settlers and carrying Western products to 
Eastern markets. They have brought all parts of our 
country nearer together, causing the different sections to 
know and understand each other better. In Washing- 
ton's time the traveler was carried by his horse prob- 
ably forty miles in a day. He had to stop at the farm- 



THREE GREAT INVENTIONS 225 

houses or hotels on the road to get his meals and to 
spend the nights. To-day the traveler speeds along in 
a passenger train at the rate of fifty miles an hour. 
While his train is whirling onward through tunnels 



1 w|~ gSP 


Dt> 




J*8& & *& ' * ?V 


m 






; 

Eth : ■ 


UBS 





(Courtesy of the Erie Railroad) 

THE LARGEST LOCOMOTIVE IN THE WORLD 

and over bridges he may eat his meals in an elegant 
dining car; then a drawing-room car offers him the 
comforts of parlor and library; and at night he may 
retire to a comfortable bed in a sleeping car. 

Tell about the railroad described in Peter Parley's history. 
When and by whom was the first successful steam locomotive 
invented? Describe the first locomotive and passenger cars. 
Mention some of the discomforts of railroad travel. Tell about 
the railroad accident in South Carolina ; modern railroads. 

THE TELEGRAPH 

Samuel Morse, Inventor of the Telegraph. — About 
the time that railroads came into use in the United 
States another invention that helped to make our coun- 
try great was made. This was the electric telegraph. 
Samuel Morse, its inventor, was a Massachusetts 
boy, the son of a minister. Like Robert Fulton, 



226 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

young Morse was fond of drawing. One of the first 
whippings he ever got was for scratching with a pin a 
picture of his teacher on his/ mother's bureau. When 
his school days were over his father sent him to Europe 
to study painting. His father 
being poor, Samuel was often in 
sore need of money. He wrote 
home from Europe: "I have 
had no new clothes for nearly 
a year. My shoes are out at 
the toes. My stockings all 
want to see my mother, and my 
hat is gray with age." Never- 
theless he studied hard, and 
painted some pictures that made 
him so famous that he was 
elected professor of art in the 
University of New York. 

, T71 .- - A SAMUEL F. B. MORSE. 

While on the return voyage 

to America, in 1832, the conversation of some passen- 
gers on the ship turned Morse's thoughts to electric- 
ity. Before he had reached New York he had made 
a drawing of a telegraph instrument, and had devised an 
alphabet of signs. "Well, captain," he said to the cap- 
tain of the ship when he reached land, "should you ever 
hear of the telegraph, remember that the discovery was 
made on the good ship Sully." 

Morse's Difficulties — As there was no telegraph wire 
in those days Morse bought a quantity of wire used in 
making ladies' bonnets, and with this wire and the in- 
strument he had made he was able to send messages a 




THREE GREAT INVENTIONS 22J 

short distance. At this time he supported himself by 
teaching, and as he had only three pupils he was fre- 
quently hard pressed for something to eat. A rich mill 
owner, whose son became interested in Professor 
Morse's experiments, furnished the means to make the 
first perfect instrument. To build the first telegraph 
line required more money than any rich men of that day 
were willing to risk, so it was decided to ask Congress to 
build a line. A bill was introduced appropriating thirty 
thousand dollars to construct a telegraph line from 
Washington to Baltimore, forty miles. Some of the 
members of Congress made fun of the proposed tele- 
graph, and Morse gave up all hope of getting the money. 

The First Telegraph Line — In the midst of his discour- 
agement a young lady brought Morse the news that 
Congress had passed his telegraph bill just five minutes 
before adjournment. He was so rejoiced that he prom- 
ised her that she should send the first message. In the 
spring of 1841 the line was completed. A passage from 
the Bible, "What hath God wrought!" (Num. xxiii, 23) 
was the first message sent. The first news sent over the 
wire was that the convention of Democrats which met 
in Baltimore nominated James K. Polk for President. 
For Vice-President they nominated Silas Wright, who 
was then in Washington, and they notified him by tele- 
graph. He sent four separate telegrams declining the 
nomination, but the convention refused to believe them, 
and finally sent a committee to Washington "to get re- 
liable information on the subject." 

The Atlantic Cable — Before the first telegraph line had 
been built Morse had constructed a line beneath the 



228 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

water in New York harbor. The wire was wound with 
thread soaked in pitch, and was then inclosed with rub- 
ber. About 1850 Cyrus Field, a wealthy New Yorker, 
concluded that a telegraph could be laid across the At- 
lantic Ocean, and set to work to carry out his idea. It 
was sixteen years later before a cable that worked suc- 
cessfully was laid. This cable is over two thousand 
miles long. Since then many other cables have been 
laid. By means of the cable and the telegraph our daily 
newspaper is enabled to tell us each morning what hap- 
pened in all parts of the world the day before. 

Who invented the telegraph? Tell about the boyhood of Morse; 
his life in Europe; the beginning of his idea of the telegraph; the 
first telegraph wire; his poverty. Who helped him make a perfect 
instrument? Tell about the help he got from Congress; the first 
message; the first news; the refusal to believe a telegraph message. 
Tell about the first telegraph line under water; the laying of the 
Atlantic cable. 



CHAPTER XVI 

A Period of Peaceful Development 
Three Great Statesmen 

Thirty-one Years of Peace. — For thirty-one years after 
the close of our second war with England our country 
was at peace with the world. Then came the war with 
Mexico, which you will read about in the next chapter. 
During this period of peace the population of the United 
States was more than doubled, and the number of States 
increased from eighteen to twenty-eight as follows : In- 
diana (1816), Mississippi (1817), Illinois (1818), Ala- 
bama (1819), Maine (1820), Missouri (1821), Arkan- 
sas (1836), Michigan (1837), Florida (1845), Texas 
(1845 ) . Our country grew in wealth as well as in popu- 
lation. New inventions were made that in many ways 
changed the habits of our people. Cheaper rates of post- 
age and cheaper newspapers brought the news of the day 
into the poorest homes. It was seen that neither wealth 
nor noble birth was needed to enable an American citizen 
to rise to the highest office in the land. 

Need of Wise Government — In the days of President 
Washington farming and trading were the pursuits in 
which nearly all our people were engaged. But with in- 
crease of population, the invention of new machinery, 
and changed conditions of living, other occupations grew 
popular, such as manufacturing, mining, and stock rais- 

229 



23O THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 






ing. To make wise and just laws for a people with such 
different occupations and such varied interests, and with 
homes scattered over so large a country, became a task 
of increasing difficulty. In the halls of Congress, in 
newspapers, and among private citizens there were ex- 
cited disputes over laws proposed or passed. Yet we 
generally found some way to compromise our quarrels, 
and on the whole the government was. wisely ad- 
ministered. 

Three Great Statesmen — Among the lawmakers of this 
period were three men who rank among the greatest 
statesmen our country has produced. These men were 
near the same age ; they entered Congress about the same 
time (just before the War of 1812) ; for forty years 
they held high offices almost continuously; and during 
this long period they took part in the settlement of nearly 
every great public question that disturbed our people. 
The names of these men are John C. Calhoun, of South 
Carolina; Henry Clay, of Kentucky; and Daniel Web- 
ster, of Massachusetts. 

Boyhood of Calhoun. — John C. Calhoun's father was an 
Irishman named Patrick Calhoun, who came to America 
while the thirteen colonics were still subject to England. 
John was born in South Carolina at the close of the 
period of the Revolution. His first schooling was ob- 
tained in the short-term, poorly taught country schools 
near his home. When thirteen years of age he was sent 
to Georgia to attend an academy taught by his brother- 
in-law, a Presbyterian minister. Young Calhoun 
studied hard and was very fond of reading. Unlike 
Thomas Jefferson, however (page 198), he made the 



A PERIOD OF PEACEFUL DEVELOPMENT 



23I 




JOHN" C. CALHOUN. 



mistake of spending too much time in reading and 
studying, and he neglected to take sufficient exercise. 
The result was that he injured 
his health, and had to give up 
his studies and return home. 
About this time his father died, 
and John took charge of the 
farm. Outdoor life soon re- 
stored his health, and he re- 
turned to school. Later he 
entered Yale College, in Con- 
necticut, graduated, and began 
the study of law. 

Boyhood of Clay.— At the time 
that John C. Calhoun was at- 
tending his first school in South 

Carolina Mrs. Clay, the widow of a Baptist minister, 
was living with her children on a small farm in the 
swampy region of eastern Virginia known as "the 
Slashes." If you had passed through the widow's 
barnyard on almost any weekday afternoon you 
might have heard issuing from the barn the loud 
tones of some one making a speech. Then if you had 
stepped to the barn door and peeped in you would 
have seen a boy about thirteen years of age standing 
before his Jiorse and cow. He was addressing them 
in beautiful language, accompanying his words with 
suitable gestures, his small audience all the while 
gazing at the young orator in open-eyed wonder. 
The boy who was thus giving himself his first les- 
sons in speechmaking by declaiming words memor- 



232 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 



ized from a book was Henry Clay. He had poor 
school advantages, but, like Calhoun, he was a good 
student. He first attended school in a log cabin with 
a dirt floor. Out of school hours he worked hard on 
the farm. Barefooted, he plowed his mother's fields; 
and he often rode horseback to mill with a rope for a 
bridle and a bag of wheat or corn for a saddle. Re- 
membering this, his friends in later years nicknamed 
him "the mill boy of the Slashes. " 

Clay Studies Law and Moves to Kentucky. — After 
working in a store for a year Henry, at fifteen years 

of age, was employed as assist- 
ant clerk in one of the Virginia 
courts. Here it was his duty to 
copy legal papers. The other 
clerks at first were disposed to 
laugh at the new boy's awk- 
ward appearance and move- 
ments. But Henry was so 
obliging and did his work so 
well that they soon stopped 
laughing. The judge of the 
court became his friend and 
recommended to him good 
books to read. When seventeen years old he began 
to study law. The next year he moved from Virginia 
to Kentucky, and began to practice his profession. 
From this time Kentucky continued to be his home. 
Boyhood of Webster.— Daniel Webster's boyhood was 
spent amid the hills of New Hampshire. Like Cal- 
houn and Clav, Webster was reared on a farm. He 




HENRY CLAY. 



A PERIOD OF PEACEFUL DEVELOPMENT 



233 



was a delicate, sickly boy, however, and for this reason 
only light tasks were required of him. He said after- 
ward that there were two things in his boyhood that 
he dearly loved, reading and playing. He read all 
the books in the village library, and committed to 
memory most of the contents of some of them. He 
was known as the quickest boy 
in school. His teacher once of- 
fered a knife to the boy who 
should recite the greatest num- 
ber of verses from the Bible. 
The next day when Webster's 
turn came, he rose and repeated 
verse after verse until at last 
the teacher cried "Enough!" 
and handed him the knife. One 
day when Daniel and his father 
were riding together Mr. Web- 
ster told his son that he had 
decided to send him to college. 

Daniel knew that his father could ill afford this ex- 
pense, and he was so overcome with surprise and 
thankfulness that he leaned his head upon his father's 
shoulder and wept. At college he was known for his 
power of eloquent speech. After graduating he 
studied law, but before beginning to practice he 
taught school for a Jew years in order to help pay the 
expenses of his older brother at college. 

Public Life of Calhoun, Clay, and Webster. — Not long 
after reaching manhood these three men, with homes 
so far apart, were brought together in the halls of 




DANIEL WEBSTER 



234 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

Congress. When the House of Representatives met 
in Washington, in 1815, among the youngest members 
were John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina; Henry 
Clay, of Kentucky; and Daniel Webster, of New 
Hampshire. (Webster soon afterward moved to 
Massachusetts, and, until his death, made his home 
in that State.) Henry Clay was made chairman, or 
"speaker," of the House, and was many times re- 
elected to this office. Calhoun, Clay, and Webster 
were each at different times members of the Presi- 
dent's cabinet. Calhoun was twice Vice-President 
of the United States. The three served together as 
members of the United States Senate, each holding 
his office at the time of his death. Strange to say, no 
one of these three great statesmen was chosen to the 
office of President of the United States. 

The Cumberland Road.— When Henry Clay entered 
public life the steamboat was a new invention and 
railroads were unknown. He saw the importance of 
providing some easy way of transporting freight and 
passengers between the States on the Atlantic coast 
and those, like Kentucky, west of the Alleghenies. 
As a member of Congress, Clay favored the plan of 
using part of the money raised by taxation for the 
construction of wagon roads, canals, and other "in- 
ternal improvements." In accordance with this plan, 
a wagon road called the Cumberland Road was built, 
under direction of Congress, from Cumberland, a 
town in Maryland, across the mountains toward the 
Mississippi River. It was a splendid road — a great 
part of it eighty feet wide and paved with stone, and it 



A PERIOD OF PEACEFUL DEVELOPMENT 235 

proved of immense benefit to the country. Other 
roads were built and canals were dug, until the com- 
ing of the railroad put a stop to the old means of 
transportation. 

Henry Clay, the Peacemaker.— Many people both 
North and South believed slavery to be wrong. But 
slave labor was profitable in the South and unprofit- 
able in the North. The people of the North, finding 
that slaves did not thrive in their cold climate, sold 
their slaves to the South, and then forbade slavery 
within their own borders. They also wished to re- 
quire every new State that entered the Union to for- 
bid slavery. Louisiana, the first State formed from 
the Louisiana Purchase, was admitted as a slave State 
in 1812. When the Territory of Missouri asked for 
admission, eight years later, Northern members of 
Congress demanded that she come in as a free State. 
The people of Missouri owned slaves and insisted on 
keeping them. The citizens of the other Southern 
States took the side of the Missourians, and there was 
a hot dispute in Congress that threatened to split the 
Union. Finally an agreement was reached which was 
advocated by Henry Clay and carried chiefly by his 
eloquence (1820). This agreement, called the Mis- 
souri Compromise, provided that Missouri should be 
a slave State, but that slavery should be forbidden 
in all other portions of the Louisiana Purchase as far 
north as Missouri. 

Thirty years later there was a similar struggle 
over the admission of California. Again Clay pro- 
posed a compromise, and his eloquence helped to 



236 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

carry it through. Because of his success in settling 
disputes Clay was called the Great Peacemaker. 

The Monroe Doctrine.— When James Monroe, of Vir- 
ginia, became President he appointed Calhoun Secre- 
tary of War. About this time the countries of South 
America that had belonged to Spain declared their 
independence and set up governments of their own. 
France and several other European nations threat- 
ened to force the South American countries to return 
to the rule of Spain. President Monroe then sent a 
message to Congress in which he declared that any 
attempt by European governments to extend their 
forms of government to this continent would be dan- 
gerous to our peace and safety, and that no European 
nation would be permitted to establish or extend col- 
onies on American soil. These bold declarations 
constitute what is known as the Monroe Doctrine. 
When the European rulers read them, they dropped 
their schemes to gain control of American territory. 
Since Monroe's time the Monroe Doctrine has been 
asserted by other Presidents, and the world now real- 
izes that we are determined to maintain it. 

The Hayne- Webster Debate. — Perhaps the most fa- 
mous debate that ever occurred in Congress was the 
one between Senators Daniel Webster, of Massachu- 
setts, and Robert Y. Hayne, of South Carolina. At this 
time Calhoun, as Vice-President of the United States, 
presided over the Senate. Senator Hayne first made 
an eloquent speech in which he declared that the high 
tariff (known as the protective tariff) fixed by Con- 
gress was unfair to the South. The Southern people 



A PERIOD OF PEACEFUL DEVELOPMENT 237 

had to buy all the manufactured goods they used, and 
they should, he contended, be permitted to buy them 
at as low prices as possible. The protective tariff 
made the South poorer and the New England manu- 
facturers richer. The law, he said, was not only un- 
fair, but it was contrary to the Constitution, and un- 
less it was repealed some States would not allow it to 
be enforced. Hayne asserted further that if a State 
decided any law of Congress to be contrary to the 
Constitution, it could declare the law not binding on 
its own people. This was the Doctrine of Nullifica- 
tion. 

Webster, in his reply to Hayne, maintained that the 
Union was not a compact, or agreement between the 
States, that a State could nullify a law of Congress, 
nor could a State withdraw from the Union which it 
had helped to form. 

South Carolina's Opposition to the Protective Tariff. — 
Calhoun was a firm believer in nullification. By his 
advice South Carolina declared that the hateful tariff 
law should not be enforced in her borders. Andrew 
Jackson was then President, and he prepared to use 
the United States army, if necessary, to carry out the 
law. It looked for a time as if there would be war. 
Through the efforts of Clay, the Peacemaker, how- 
ever, a compromise tariff law was passed, lowering 
the tariff and satisfying South Carolina. This ended 
the trouble. In the midst of the dispute Calhoun 
resigned his place as Vice-President, in order that he 
might be elected Senator from South Carolina and 
be able to take part in the debates in defense of his 
State. 



238 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

Improvements During This Period.— During this pe- 
riod steamboats began to appear on all our lakes and 
rivers; railroads took the place of canals and national 
wagon roads; matches came into use instead of the 
clumsy flint and steel; McCormick's reaper increased 
the production of grain in the West as the cotton gin 
had stimulated cotton planting in the South the first 
photographs were taken; public schools, particularly 
in the West, were made better and the school term 
lengthened; newspapers and books became cheaper 
and were more widely read. At the beginning of this 
period we could claim only two great American auth- 
ors, Washington Irving and William Cullen Bryant. 
Now other great names were rapidly added to the list, 
among them the novelists, Cooper and Hawthorne; 
the poets, Longfellow and Poe; the historians, Ban- 
croft and Prescott. 

Western Growth. — This was a period of rapid growth 
in the West. Railroads were pushed forward into the 
rich farming lands of the Mississippi Valley. Great 
steamboats, carrying immense cargoes of products of 
the soil or manufactured articles, plied the Mississippi 
and its tributaries. The government owned great 
stretches of territory in the West that it had obtained 
from the States as they came into the Union. These 
lands bore a fertile soil and enjoyed a climate favor- 
able to farming. The government sold them at low 
prices to homeseekers from foreign countries and 
from the old States. From 1821 to 1837 the popula- 
tion of Mississippi increased from 80,000 to 320,000, 
of Missouri from 70,000 to 350,000, of Tennessee from 



A PERIOD OF PEACEFUL DEVELOPMENT 239 

450,000 to 800,000. All this great region felt the stir 
of the State-building spirit, and great areas were put 
under the plow, and towns and cities sprang up every- 
where. The long era of peace was spent by the people 
in conquering the wilderness, in founding homes, in 
building cities, in constructing States. 

What was our next war after the second war with England ? How 
many years of peace between these wars? What can you say of the 
growth of our country during this period? What change took place 
in the occupations of our people? What effect did the growth of 
our country have upon the work of our lawmakers? Why? Name 
three great statesmen of this period. In what respects were they 
alike in their history? Tell about John C. Calhoun's boyhood and 
youth ; the boyhood of Henry Clay ; Clay's work as clerk ; his removal 
to Kentucky. Tell about the boyhood and youth of Daniel Webster. 
Name the public offices filled by Calhoun, Clay, and Webster. What 
was the Cumberland Road? What was Clay's connection with it? 
What put a stop to canal and road building by Congress ? Tell about 
the dispute over the admission of Missouri as a State. How was the 
dispute settled? What other dispute did Clay help to settle? What 
name was given him because of this ? What office did Calhoun hold 
under President Monroe? Tell about the famous message President 
Monroe sent to Congress. What famous debate took place in Con- 
gress during this period? Tell some things said by each debater. 
What is a protective tariff? (Get your teacher or your father to 
explain this.) What action did South Carolina take in regard to the 
tariff law of Congress? What did President Jackson prepare to 
do? How was the trouble settled? Name some of the inventions of 
this period. Show how our people progressed in education. Name 
a poor-boy President during this period. Tell of the growth of the 
West. 



CHAPTER XVII 

Westward Expansion 

Sam Houston, Founder of the Texas Republic 



We Give Up Our First Claim to Texas. — When we 
bought Louisiana from France, in 1803, we did not 
know exactly how far westward our new territory ex- 
tended. In the southwest we claimed that it included 
the greater part, if not all, of Texas. But Spain de- 
clared that Texas was part of 
her province of Mexico, and that 
ourLouisianadidnot reach even 
as far west as the Sabine River. 
Sixteen years later (in 1819) 
this matter was settled. In that 
year we bought Florida from 
Spain, and as part of the bargain 
we agreed to take the Sabine 
River as our western boundary, 
thus giving up our claim to 
Texas. About this time Mexico 
declared herself independent of 
Spain. In the war between Spain and Mexico that fol- 
lowed Mexico won; and Texas now, instead of be- 
longing to Spain, belonged to Mexico. 

Settlers from the United States in Texas.— But the 

Sabine River was easier for our westward-marching pio- 

24C 




SAM HOUSTON. 



WESTWARD EXPANSION 24.I 

neers to cross than the Allegheny Mountains had been 
for their fathers in the days of Daniel Boone. Before 
long settlers from the United States began to throng 
into the fertile plains of Texas. The Mexican govern- 
ment at first encouraged the coming of the settlers, 
making rich grants of lands to the pioneers who came. 
The new-comers, however, were different in language, 
customs, and religion from the Mexicans. They loved 
liberty, and the government of Mexico was harsh and 
tyrannical. There were muttering^ of discontent — 
signs of an approaching storm. 

Sam Houston's First Appearance in Texas In De- 
cember, 1832, three horsemen from the United States 
crossed the Red River from the Indian Territory (then 
a part of Arkansas Territory) into the Mexican State 
of Texas. Traveling southward, they reached the vil- 
lage of Nacogdoches, an American settlement in eastern 
Texas. Here the leader of the little party was recog- 
nized and welcomed by some acquaintances among the 
settlers as Sam Houston, famous as an Indian fighter, 
then as Congressman, afterward as governor of Ten- 
nessee. Houston told his Texas friends that he was on 
his way to San Antonio, by order of President Jackson, 
to make a treaty with the Comanche Indians. The peo- 
ple of Nacogdoches felt that they needed such a man as 
•Houston to help them in their disputes with Mexico. 
They begged him to make his home among them. He 
promised that he would do so after he had carried out 
President Jackson's order. 

Schoolboy Days of Houston — Sam Houston, who was 
soon to be the leading man in Texas, was born in the 



242 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

Valley of Virginia. He started to school when he was 
eight years old, but as he had to help with the farm work 
he could attend school only a few months in the winter. 
After his farm work began, if he did his work well, he 
was allowed to run from the fields to the schoolhouse in 
time to keep his place in spelling. When Sam was thir- 
teen years old his father died, and his mother with her 
nine children moved to Tennessee. In his new home 
Sam went for a while to another school. Here, it seems, 
he was fonder of play than of his books. His teacher 
said, "Many a time did I determine to give Sam Houston 
a whipping for neglect of study, but he would come into 
the schoolroom bowing and scraping, with such a fine 
dish of apologies, and withal so polite and manly for one 
of his age, that it took all the whip out of me." Young 
Sam got hold of a book of Greek poetry translated into 
English, and took great delight in reading it. He then 
wanted to study Latin, and when his teacher refused to 
allow him to do so he declared he would never recite 
another lesson. 

Life among the Indians. A School-teacher — His older 
brother put Sam to work clerking in a store. He did not 
like this indoor work. Just beyond the Tennessee River, 
a few miles from his home, was an Indian tribe. Sam 
was on friendly terms with the red men. He often 
hunted with the Indian boys, and sold them ammunition 
from the store. One day the storekeeper missed his 
clerk. It turned out that Sam had run away to live with 
the Indians. He made his home with them for several 
years, dressed like an Indian, spoke their language, and 
followed their customs. Then, needing money to pay a 



WESTWARD EXPANSION 243 

debt for ammunition, he came back to the white people 
and opened a school. Reading, writing, and "cipher- 
ing" were the only branches taught in most frontier 
schools. Sam knew these branches pretty well, and he 
controlled the boys easily; so his school was a success. 
He raised the price of tuition from six dollars a year to 
eight dollars, payable one-third in cash, one-third in 
corn, and one-third in cotton cloth. Having made 
enough money to pay his debt, he stopped teaching and 
started to school again himself. 

Houston becomes a Soldier; a Lawyer; Governor. 
Among" the Indians Again — When our second war with 
England began, Houston, now twenty years old, joined 
the army. He was sent with the troops under Gen- 
eral Jackson against the Indians of Alabama. In the 
battle of Horseshoe Bend he was wounded so severely 
that it was several years after the close of the war be- 
fore he recovered his health. Then, resigning from the 
army, he studied law. He was elected to one office after 
another until he became governor of Tennessee. While 
governor he suddenly gave up his office and left his 
people. He crossed the Mississippi River into the Ter- 
ritory of Arkansas and took up his abode with his old 
friends, the Indians. Again he put on the clothing of 
an Indian and lived in a wigwam. He was known by 
the Indian name of Colonneh, the Rover. While here he 
was requested by President Jackson to visit Texas, as 
already told. 

When and how did the United States first get a claim to Texas? 
What nation disputed our claim? How was the dispute settled? 
What was the result of Mexico's war for independence? Tell about 



244 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

the coming of settlers from the United States. Mention some causes 
of discontent. Tell about Sam Houston's first appearance in Texas; 
about Houston's schoolboy days; his running away from home; his 
experience as a teacher ; as a soldier against the Indians ; as a public 
officer; his second retirement to the Indians. 



TEXAS AND THE PACIFIC SLOPE ADDED TO THE 

UNION 

The Texas Revolution. — Houston now made his home 
at Nacogdoches, in Texas. Soon the Texans were in 
arms against the tyrannical Mexican government. 




THE ALAMO. 



Houston was made commander of the Texas army. At 
the Alamo, a stone church used also as a fort, situated 
in San Antonio, a small company of Texans under Col- 
onel Travis was attacked by a large army of Mexicans, 






WESTWARD EXPAXSIOX 245 

The fort was taken, but not until every one of its brave 
defenders had fallen. Near the town of Goliad a little 
army of Texans was compelled to surrender to a large 
Mexican force. Instead of carrying out their promise 
to send the captured Texans back to their homes, the 
cruel Mexicans marched them out in front of the camp, 
stood them up in rows, and shot them to death. On 
the 2 1 st of April, 1836, General Houston's army met the 
Mexicans on the bank of the San Jacinto River, a few 
miles below the present city of Houston. The Texans 
were outnumbered two to one, but they rushed into battle 
shouting, "Remember the Alamo !" "Remember Goliad ;" 
and drove their enemies before them. The Mexican gen- 
eral was captured, and a great victory was won. This 
severe defeat of the Mexicans ended the war. Texas 
became an independent republic, with General Houston 
its president. 

Texas Joins the United States — The settlers of Texas 
had all come from the States, and they now wanted their 
new country to join the United States. At first the 
United States refused the request of the Texans for an- 
nexation. Mexico still claimed that Texas belonged to 
her, and threatened to make war on any nation that 
should seize or accept it. The United States tried to 
buy Texas as she had bought Louisiana, but Mexico 
would not sell. At last, the people of the United States 
showed by their votes that they wanted Texas if she 
still wished to join them. In December, 1845, Texas 
became a State of the United States. This was the first 
new territory which we acquired without buying it. 
Texas is the largest State in the Union. It is nearly 



246 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

as large as the first thirteen States east of the Allegheny 
Mountains taken together. 

War between the United States and Mexico. We Gain 
More Territory — Mexico still claimed that Texas be- 
longed to her. When Texas joined the United States 
war broke out between Mexico and the United States 
(1846). The war lasted two years. Generals Zachary 
Taylor and Winfield Scott were the leading generals on 
our side. Our troops won every battle. We conquered 
northern Mexico, including what is now California, and 
captured the city of Mexico. Mexico was then glad to 
make peace, and to let us have the northern territory our 
troops had conquered, on our paying fifteen million dol- 
lars for it. This new land included the present States 
and Territories of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona 
(with small parts of Wyoming, Color afdo, and New 
Mexico). Our country now extended from ocean to 
ocean. 

Gold in California — About the time we got the Cali- 
fornia country a workman who had been building a 
sawmill on a river bank in northern California noticed 
in the water some shining yellow particles. He took a 
panfull of the sparkling dirt to the owner of the mill. 
The two men examined it carefully, weighed it, pounded 
it, poured acids upon it, and at last decided it was gold. 
They tried to keep the discovery a secret, but the news 
leaked out. Rich discoveries of gold were made in va- 
rious parts of the country. People began pouring into 
California from all parts of the United States. On 
horseback, in wagons, on foot, a long procession of im- 
migrants streamed across the Western plains, all wild 



WESTWARD EXPANSION 



247 




248 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

with the "gold fever/' In two years after gold was dis- 
covered California had enough people to be admitted 
as a State. 

California is now noted not only as a gold-producing 
State, but as a rich fruit and farming country. The 
famous "big trees" of California are the largest in the 
world. 

More Territory. — The land west of the Rocky Moun- 
tains and north of California was known as the 
"Oregon country." It wasclaimedby theUnitedStates, 
because it had been visited by Captain Gray in his 
ship Columbia in 1793, and because Lewis and Clark 
had explored it in 1804. Spain once claimed this region, 
but she gave up her claim to us when shesoldus Florida. 
England claimed the Oregon country as part of British 
America, and she insisted on her claim. In the year that 
the Mexican war began, however, we agreed with Eng- 
land to divide the disputed territory between us, the 
United States takingthepart south of the present bound- 
ary of British America. General Houston was at this 
time a member of the United States senate whichhelped 
to make a treaty, or agreement, with England. A few 
years later (1853) we bought from Mexico a strip of 
land now the southern part of ArizonaandNewMexico. 
We called this new territory the "Gadsden Purchase/' 
from General Gadsden, who was our agent in buying it. 
This made the sixth tirfte we had added to our territory. 

Last Days of General Houston. — When Texas joined 
the United States, General Houston was chosen United 
States senator. He was governor of Texas when the 
war broke out between the North and the South. Hous 



WESTWARD EXPANSION 249 

ton believed that Texas made a mistake in leaving the 
Union to join the Southern Confederacy, and he refused 
to support the new government. The Texans then re- 
moved him from his office. He took no part in the war, 
however, but allowed his son to join the Confederate 
army. He died at his home in Huntsville before the war 
was over. 

To what office was Houston first called by the Texans? Tell about 
the fall of the Alamo; the cruelty of the Mexicans at Goliad; Houston's 
victory at San Jacinto; the efforts of Texas to join the United States. 
When did Texas become a State of the Union? What can you say of 
its size? What caused the war between the United States and Mexico? 
Who were our leading generals? What was the result of all the battles? 
the result of the war? What States are included in this "Mexican 
cession''? Tell about the discovery of gold in California; the growth 
of California in population ; the productions of the State. Tell about 
how the United States acquired the Oregon country. What States are 
included in this region? W T hat other territory did we get from Mexico? 
Name the six different additions to our territory thus far. Tell about 
the last days of General Houston. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

Our Country Divided 

The Story of Two Kentucky Boys 

Two Kentucky Boys — A few years before the be- 
ginning of the War of 1812 two boys were born in the 
State of Kentucky who were destined when they were 




BIRTHPLACES AND HOMES OF LINCOLN AND DAVIS. 

each about fifty years of age to be leaders of opposing 
sides in a great war between the Northern and the 
Southern States. Less than a hundred miles separated 
the birthplaces of these boys, and there was only eight 

250 



OUR COUNTRY DIVIDED 251 

months' difference in their ages. The father of the 
older of the boys had moved to Kentucky from Georgia, 
where he had been a soldier in the War of the Revolution. 
The grandfather of the younger boy had come from Vir- 
ginia to make his home in Kentucky a few years after 
Daniel Boone had led the way into this region. The 
name of the older boy was Jefferson Davis; of the 
younger, Abraham Lincoln. 

ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

Boyhood of Lincoln — When Abraham Lincoln was 
seven years old his father removed from Kentucky to 
Indiana. He selected a place in the woods for a home, 
and with the help of little Abe and his older sister Sarah 
and Mrs. Lincoln a shelter was quickly built. This 
shelter was called a "half-face camp/' It was a kind of 
shed made of poles and covered with leaves and branches. 
One side was left entirely open, and in front of this 
opening a fire was kept burning to warm the camp. Over 
the fire hung a huge iron kettle, and in this kettle Abe's 
mother cooked the wild game, beans, corn, or other food. 
In this uncomfortable home the Lincoln family lived a 
whole year. When they moved into their new log cabin 
it seemed to little Abe like a palace, although it had a 
dirt floor and no doors or windows, save openings in 
the walls over which skins of wild animals were hung. 
Abe slept on a pile of leaves in the loft of the cabin, and 
every night he climbed to his bed by a ladder .of wooden 
pins driven into the logs. 

Lincoln's School Days. — Abraham Lincoln's mother 
taught her husband to read and write, and she probably 



252 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 



taught little Abe also. He went to school in a log cabin 
near his home. But his school days were soon over. 
His father took him from school to put him to work, but 
he continued studying. He had no slate, and writing 
paper was scarce, 
so he used to write 
compositions and 
work "sums" in 
arithmetic at night 
on the wooden 
shovel by the fire- 
place. When he 
had covered the 
shovel with letters 
and figures he 
shaved them off 
and began again. 
At nineteen years 

of age he had read every book he could find, could "spell 
down" the whole neighborhood in their spelling matches, 
and could write a neat, clear hand. 

A Trip to New Orleans — Young Lincoln longed to see 
something of the world beyond his father's little farm. 
The chance came when a rich neighbor offered to hire 
him to accompany his son on a flatboat loaded with corn 
and other products to New Orleans. To the Western 
farmers of that time boats on the Ohio and Mississippi 
took the place of freight trains with us. It was a long 
trip, of about eighteen hundred miles, to New Orleans. 
Young Lincoln managed the boat successfully and sold 
the cargo for a good price. One night, on the way down, 




LINCOLN S EAULY HOME. 



OUR COUNTRY DIVIDED 



^53 



when they had tied their boat to the shore, and the two 
young men were asleep on board, they were awakened 
by a gang of negroes coming to rob the boat. Abra- 
ham seized a club, knocked several negroes overboard, 
drove the rest from the boat, and, with his companion, 
chased them some distance in the darkness. 

Moves to Illinois. Rail Splitter: Soldier When 

young Lincoln was twenty years old his father moved to 
Illinois. Here another cabin home was built. Abra- 
ham, with the help of his cousin, John Hanks, split 
enough walnut rails for his father to fence in a field of 

fifteen acres. Once, 
when he needed a 
pair of trousers, he 
agreed with a lady 
who was to make 
them to split for her 
four hundred good 
fence rails for every 
yard of cloth she 
furnished. When 
war against the In- 
dian chief Black 
Hawk broke out Lincoln joined the army and was 
made captain of a company. Black Hawk was cap- 
tured, and the war was closed before Lincoln's men 
had a chance to do any fighting. In a speech after- 
ward he jokingly said that in the Black Hawk War he 
fought, bled, and came away — that he charged upon 
the wild onions, and had a good many bloody struggles 
with the mosquitoes. 




THE BEAUTIFUL MEMORIAL BUILT OVER 
THE LINCOLN CABIN, IN KENTUCKY. 



254 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

Lincoln Studies Law. Elected to the Legislature and 
to Congress — After his war experience was over Lincoln 
studied law. About the time he began to practice he 
was elected to the Legislature of Illinois. As he was 
then too poor to hire a horse he walked all the way from 
his home to the State capital, over a hundred miles. He 
was elected again and again to the Legislature. Then 
his people sent him to Congress. When Lincoln took 
his seat in the House of Representatives, or "Lower 
House" of Congress in December, 1847, among the new 
members of the Senate, or "Upper House," was Jeffer- 
son Davis, of Mississippi, the Kentucky boy mentioned 
in the beginning of this chapter. 

What State was the birthplace of two opposing leaders in the war 
between the North and the South? In what respects was the early 
history of these boys similar? What were their names? Tell about 
the boyhood of Lincoln; about his school days; his trip to New Or- 
leans; his new home in Illinois; his experience as a rail splitter^, 
as a soldier; his public offices. What former Kentuckian did h» 
meet in Congress ? 

JEFFERSON DAVIS 

Boyhood of Jefferson Davis. — Abraham Lincoln's 
father moved northward from Kentucky; Jefferson 
Davis's father moved southward. Before Jefferson was 
old enough to remember, his father took his family from 
Kentucky and settled in Mississippi. Here little Jeff, 
when only five years old, started to school. He and his 
sister Polly used to walk through the woods to the log 
cabin in which the school was taught, carrying their 
"dinner" in a basket. Jefferson was two years younger 
than his sister, but he thought he had to take care of 



I 



OUR COUNTRY DIVIDED 255 

her. One day when they were going through the lone- 
liest part of the woods they saw coming toward them 
through the undergrowth what seemed to be a drunken 
man carrying several chairs on his head. Jefferson 



Sefferson 2>avis t 

OF MISSISSIPPI, WAS BORN JUNE 3, 1808, 

ON THE SITE OF THIS CHURCH. 

HE MADE A GIFT OF THIS LOT MARCH IO, 1 886, 

TO BETHEL BAPTIST CHURCH, 

AS A THANK-OFFERING TO THE LORD. 



INSCRIPTION ON MARBLE SLAB IN WALL OF THE BAPTIST 
CHURCH, FAIRVIEW, KENTUCKY. 

seized his sister's hand and said, "We mustn't run, 
Polly!" Slowly the strange object drew near, until 
it proved to be a wild deer, with great branching horns. 
Gazing at the two children bravely standing hand in 
hand, the deer came quite close to them, then turned 
and bounded off. 

Jefferson Decides between Going to School and Picking 
Cotton. — After two years at a boarding school in Ken- 
tucky, Jefferson returned to his home in Mississippi, and 
entered the county academy. One day when his teacher 
threatened to punish him for not knowing a lesson which 
Jefferson declared was longer than he could master 
the boy took up his books and went home. His father 
after listening to his story said : "It is for you to choose 
whether you will work with your head or with your 
hands ; of course, my son could not be an idler. I want 
more cotton pickers, and I will give you work." For two 



256 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

days Jefferson worked steadily in the cotton field from 
morning until night beside his father's negro slaves. 
Then he decided that long lessons were not so bad as 
long cotton rows, when the cotton had to be picked by 
a boy unused to steady work in the hot sun. The next 
day he was back at his place in school with no more com- 
plaint about long lessons. 

A Cadet at the Military Academy — While Jefferson 
Davis was at college he was appointed by President 
Monroe a cadet in the military academy at West Point, 
New York. A schoolmate at college has said of him 
that, while gay and light-hearted, Davis was free from 
coarseness and vulgarity ; that "he was always a gentle- 
man in the highest sense of the word." The cadets at 
West Point are trained to be soldiers. They are sup- 
ported by the government, and a sum of money is paid 
them each month for their expenses. Every month 
Cadet Davis sent a part of his pay to his mother. Once 
or twice she returned it, but finding that this distressed 
him, she kept it. 

A Soldier. — After graduating from West Point, Lieu- 
tenant Davis was stationed with other soldiers at first 
one fort and then another in the Northwest. He was 
engaged in the Black Hawk Indian War, and it is said 
that he was the officer before whom Captain Abraham 
Lincoln was sworn into service in that war. After his 
marriage he resigned from the army and lived on a 
plantation in Mississippi. In 1844 he was elected to the 
Lower House of Congress. When the Mexican War 
broke out a regiment of volunteer soldiers from Mis- 
sissippi chose Mr. Davis as their commander. In the 



OUR COUNTRY DIVIDED 



257 



battle of Buena Vista the skill and bravery of Colonel 
Davis and his men won the victory for our army. Davis 
was severely wounded in this battle. 

United States Senator — On his return from the Mex- 
ican War, Colonel Davis was made United States sena- 
tor. In the same Congress in which he took his seat 
as senator from Mississippi, Abraham Lincoln first ap- 
peared as representative from Illinois. Thus the two 




Copyright Detroit Photo Co. 

JEFFERSON DAVIS'S HOME, BEAUVOIR, MISS. 

Kentucky boys, having grown to manhood with lives 
so widely different, have at last come together as law- 
makers for their country. One boy, blessed with a com- 
fortable home and every advantage of education, made 
the most of his opportunities. The other boy, raised in 
poverty and with almost no school advantages, con- 
quered every difficulty, made opportunities, then im- 
proved them. Both were high-minded, truthful, gener- 
qus, brave — worthy examples to all American boys. 



258 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

Tell about Jefferson Davis's removal from Kentucky; about the 
adventure of little Jefferson while on his way to school; about his 
cotton-picking experience. What was said of him as a college stu- 
dent? What is the United States Military Academy? How did 
Davis become a cadet? How did he show his love for his mother? 
In what Indian war did he serve? After his marriage where did 
he make his home? What part did he take in the Mexican War? 
On his return from the Mexican War to what office was Colonel 
Davis chosen? Compare the lives of the two Kentucky boys. 



FORMATION OF THE CONFEDERATE STATES 

Different Political Beliefs of Lincoln and Davis Al- 
though Lincoln and Davis were members of the same 
Congress, they belonged to different political parties — 
that is, they had different beliefs about the powers of 
the government, and how these 
powers should be exercised. 
Lincoln's party was composed of 
men who, for the most part, be- 
lieved that the Constitution of 
the United States gave the 
President, Congress, and other 
United States officers power to 
do certain things which the party 
of Jefferson Davis believed could 
be done only by the officers of 
the different States. Lincoln's 
party believed that in cases where Abraham Lincoln. 
the meaning of the Constitution was not perfectly plain 
more power should be given to the United States, or cen- 
tral government, and less power to the State. Davis's 
party believed that the State governments should have 







OUR COUNTRY DIVIDED 



259 



more power and the central government less. These 
different beliefs led to many disputes. 

The Slavery Question — Another question which di- 
vided Jefferson Davis and the people of the South from 
Lincoln and the people of the North was that of 

slavery. Slaves were brought to 
this country by New England 
ships and were once owned in all 
the States. But it was found 
that the cold climate of the 
Northern States and the trading 
and manufacturing occupations 
of the people were not suited to 
the negro. In the North it was 
cheaper to hire a white workman 
than to feed and clothe the negro 
slave and care for him in sick- 
ness, when, after all, he could not 
be trained to do skillfully the 
work which the Northern people 
wanted done. In the South, on the other hand, negro 
slaves were profitable to their masters. The warm 
climate of the South was like that of the negro's African 
home. Under the direction of a good "overseer/' ne- 
groes made excellent farm hands on Southern planta- 
tions. So it came about that the Southern people con- 
sidered slavery the best thing for the negro, for the 
South, and for the^ whole country. Many Northern 
people, on the other hand, came to look upon it as a great 
wrong, a shame and a disgrace to the whole country. 
When a new State was ready to join the Union there 




JEFFERSON DAVIS. 



260 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

was nearly always a hot dispute between North and 
South as to whether it should come in as a "free" or a 
"slave" State. 

The Abolitionists — The North began to form societies 
called "abolition societies," for the purpose of abolish- 
ing slavery in the Southern States. Members of these 
societies made speeches, published papers, and wrote 
poems declaring slavery to be a sin, and Southern slave 
owners to be cruel and wicked. The Southern people 
declared that cruel slave owners were few; that the 
slaves were well cared for, happy, and contented. They 
pointed to passages in the Constitution of the United 
States permitting slavery, and they insisted that Con- 
gress had no right to interfere with it. The more bitter 
the Northern attacks upon slavery became the more de- 
termined were the people of the South to stand by what 
they considered their rights under the Constitution. 

The Question of Slavery Before the United States Su- 
preme Court — In a lawsuit over the ownership of a negro 
slave named Dred Scott the Supreme Court of the United 
States decided that the Constitution permitted a master 
to take his slaves into any territory of the United States. 
This decision enraged the people of the North who were 
opposed to slavery. The judges who made the decision 
were abused in newspapers and public speeches. Al- 
though many Northern people did not join in this abuse, 
yet the bitter attacks upon the judges angered the South 
against the North. When Northern States refused to 
carry out the law of Congress which required that slaves 
escaping into their borders be returned to their Southern 
owners this anger increased. * 



OUR COUNTRY DIVIDED 261 

The John Brown Raid — 'Another event that increased 
the feeling between the North and South was the John 
Brown raid. John Brown was a Northern abolitionist 
who had been engaged in bloody fights with the slave 
owners of Kansas. With a few followers he went to 
Virginia, broke into a house where arms belonging to the 
United States were stored, seized a number of guns, and 
called upon the negro slaves to join him in a war upon 
the white people of the South for the purpose of abolish- 
ing slavery. Brown's party killed several white citizens 
and, took others prisoners; but the slaves did not join 
them, as they had expected. The raid proved a failure. 
John Brown was captured, tried for treason and mur- 
der, was found guilty, and was hanged. Yet many of 
the Abolitionists of the North praised John Brown, and 
in newspapers and public speeches declared he had done 
right. This led Southern people to believe that the senti- 
ment in the North was in favor of Brown's plans. 

Abraham Lincoln Chosen President of the United 
States. — In the midst of this bitter feeling between North 
and South, members of the Republican Party met in 
Chicago to choose a man for whom their party would 
vote for President. During the meeting friends of Lin- 
coln brought in two old fence rails which Lincoln had 
split when a young man. With the rails was carried a 
banner bearing the words, "Abraham Lincoln, the Rail 
Candidate for the Presidency." The rails were greeted 
with cheers, and Lincoln was nominated. The party of 
Jefferson Davis could not agree upon a candidate for 
their side to vote for, and split into two parts. Lincoln 
was then elected President of the United States. 



262 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

The Southern States Leave the Union From the be- 
ginning of the government the Southern States had be- 
lieved that a State had the right to withdraw, or secede 
from the Union. Northern States also had held this 
view, and in the New England States particularly it had 
been often asserted. When Lincoln was elected Presi- 
dent the Southern States determined to secede. They 




Copyright Detroit Photo Co. 

CONFEDERATE CAPITOL AT RICHMOND. 



did this not because Lincoln himself was hateful to them, 
but the party to which he belonged included the bitterest 
enemies of the South. The Southern people believed 
that with this party in control of the government, de- 
cisions of the Supreme Court would be disregarded, the 
Constitution would be broken, and their rights trampled 
upon. 



OUR COUNTRY DIVIDED 



263 



Jefferson Davis Chosen President of the Confederate 
States. — Between December, 1860, and February, 1861, 
seven States withdrew from the Union — South Caro- 
lina, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisi- 
ana, and Texas. Delegates from the seceded States 
met at Montgom- 
e r y, Alabama, 
and formed a new 
government, 
called the Con- 
federate States of 
America. Jeffer- 
son Davis, of Mis- 
sissippi, was chos- 
en President, and 
A 1 exa n der H. 
Stephens, of 
Georgia, Vice- 
President. Four 
other States — 
Virginia, Arkan- 
sas, North Carolina, and Tennessee — afterward joined 
the Confederacy, and the capital was moved from 
Montgomery to Richmond, Virginia. 

Lincoln and Davis in Later Years. — Soon after Lincoln 
was made President a terrible war between the United 
States and the Confederate States began. The war 
lasted four years, and closed with the armies of the 
United States victorious. Just after the close of the 
war President Lincoln was killed. A half-crazy man 
named John Wilkes Booth crept up behind the Presi- 




FIRST CAPITOL OF THE SOUTHERN CON- 
FEDERACY, MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA 



264 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

dent in a theater and shot him. His death was a great 
loss to the South as well as to the North ; for if Lincoln 
had lived he would probably have saved the Southern- 
ers from much of the harsh treatment they received 
just after the war. To-day the memory of Abraham 
Lincoln is honored in all parts of our country. 

At the close of the war President Davis was arrested 
on the charge of treason, and was thrown into prison. 
After two years of imprisonment he was released, and 
his case was never tried. He died in the city of New 
Orleans, at the age of eighty-one, loved and revered 
by the people of the South, respected by good men 
everywhere. 



What different political beliefs did the parties of Davis and of 
Lincoln have? Tell how slavery came to prevail in the South and 
not in the North. How was slavery regarded in the South? How 
did many Northern people regard it? Tell about the attacks of the 
abolitionists upon slavery and slave owners; the reply of the South- 
erners. What was the decision of the United States Supreme Court 
in the Dred Scott lawsuit? How was this decision received? Who 
was John Brown? Tell about his raid. How did this increase the 
hatred between North and South? Tell about the nomination of 
Lincoln for President by the Republican Party; the result of the 
election. At the beginning of our government what belief about 
secession was held by all the States? Why did the Southern States 
determine to secede when Lincoln was elected President? Tell about 
the formation of the Confederate States government; the officers 
chosen; the capitals. Tell about the last days of Lincoln; of Davis. 






CHAPTER XIX 

The War Between the States 

The Beginning of the War 

How the War Began — Jefferson Davis and the people 
of the South believed that a State had a right to leave the 
Union. Abraham Lincoln and the Northern people de- 
clared a State had no such right. So when the officers 
of the seceded States asked President Lincoln to remove 
the United States soldiers from the forts in their borders 
he refused to do so. He not only refused to remove these 
troops, but he sent supplies and more troops to Fort Sum- 
ter, on the coast of South Carolina. The Southern peo- 
ple believed that by sending these soldiers to Fort Sum- 
ter the North began the war. President Davis ordered 
the Confederate troops near Fort Sumter to capture the 
fort before the ships bearing President Lincoln's re- 
inforcements should arrive. On April 12, 1861, South- 
ern soldiers attacked the fort. After a stubborn defense 
lasting part of two days Fort Sumter was surrendered 
to the Confederates. The great war had begun. 

The First Great Battle — The first great battle of the 
war was fought in Virginia on Bull Run Creek, near 
Manassas Junction. The Northern army started south 
from Washington to capture Richmond, the Confederate 
capital. They were met by the Southern army. In one 
part of the field of battle the troops under the Southern 

265 



266 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

General T. J. Jackson were fiercely attacked, but they 
firmly held their ground. In the midst of the fight an- 
other Southern officer, whose troops had begun to re- 
treat, seeing Jackson's unyielding bravery, shouted to 
his own men : "Look ; 'there is Jackson, standing like 
a stone wall ! Let us die here, or conquer !" His men 
took fresh courage at the sight. The advance of the 
Northern troops was checked. At this moment fresh 
Confederate troops arrived upon the field. The South- 
ern army rushed forward, and gained a great victory, 
driving their enemies back to Washington. General T. 
J. Jackson, who became one of the most famous generals 
of the war, was ever afterward known as "Stonewall 
Jackson/' 

What Each Side was Trying to Do The purpose of 

President Lincoln was to conquer the Confederacy, so as 
to make the seceded States come back into the Union. 
To carry out this purpose the Northern armies east of 
the Allegheny Mountains tried again and again to cap- 
ture Richmond, the Confederate capital. West of the 
Alleghenies, Northern troops invaded the Confederacy 
in the efifort to defeat its armies and capture its cities. 
Northern armies also tried to get control of the Missis- 
sippi River by attacking Southern cities and forts along 
its bank, their object being in this way to cut the Con- 
federacy in two. Lastly, Northern ships of war sta- 
tioned themselves outside of Southern harbors to prevent 
any ships passing in or out. The purpose of Presi- 
dent Davis was to defend the Confederacy from the at- 
tacks made upon it. The object of the Southern armies 
was to drive the invading armies from their soil. In 






THE WAR BETWEEN THE STATES 



267 



numbers, in wealth, in ships, and in supplies of war, the 
North had a tremendous advantage. 

Tell how the war between the States began. Where was the first 
great battle? Tell about General T. J. Jackson's bravery; the result 
of the battle. What was President Lincoln's purpose in the war? 
How did he try to carry out his purpose? What was the purpose 
of President Davis? the object of the Southern armies? the stronger 
side? 

WEST OF THE ALLEGHENIES 

Northern Armies Gain Control of Border States and 
Overrun Georgia. — The Southern line of defense 
through Kentucky was broken 
by a Northern army under Gen- 
eral Grant. In the battle of 
Shiloh near the southern border 
of Tennessee General Albert 
Sidney Johnston, one of the best 
Southern generals, was killed at 
the moment of victory, and the 
next day his army withdrew 
southward. Kentucky, Tennes- 
see, and Missouri gradually fell 
into the hands of Federal forces 
despite the brave and often sue- general a. s. johnston. 
cessful resistance by Confederate armies under Bragg, 
Price, McCulloch and other generals. The Northern 
General, Sherman, marched his army from Tennessee 
into Georgia, laying waste the country in his path. He 
was unsuccessfully opposed by a small army first under 
General Joseph E. Johnston, then under General Hood. 
Reaching the sea coast at Savannah, Sherman turned 
northward through the Carolinas. 




268 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 




GENERAL JOHN B. 
HOOD. 



The Struggle for the Mississippi River. — In the second 
year of the war Northern warships captured New Or- 
leans. Higher up the river Vicks- 
burg and Port Hudson, held by the 
Confederates, still guarded the 
stream. The next year General 
Grant took Vicksburg after heroic 
resistance by its defenders, Generals 
Stephen D. Lee (who defeated 
Sherman at Chickasaw bayou), 
Johnston, and Pemberton. Port 
Hudson surrendered a few days 
later. The whole Mississippi River 
was now in the hands of Union 
troops. The Confederacy was cut 
into two parts. 

West of the Mississippi. — West of the Mississippi were 
the Confederate States of Arkansas, Louisiana, and 
Texas, with the disputed State of Missouri. In the 
first year of the war the Confederates under Generals 
Price and McCulloch won the battle of Wilson's Creek 
in Missouri. Union troops afterward gained control 
of the State. In Louisiana General Dick Taylor with a 
small Southern army defeated General Banks in the 
battles of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill. In Texas a fort 
at Sabine Pass, garrisoned by a little band of forty-two 
men under Lieutenant Dick Dowling, disabled or drove 
back Union ships carrying a large army for the in- 
vasion of the State. Galveston, which had been seized 
by Union troops, was recaptured by the Confederates 
in a brilliant fight. 



THE WAR BETWEEN THE STATES 



26Q 



How was the Southern line west of the Alleghenies broken? Tell 
about General Grant's advance and the battle of Shiloh. Name three 
great battles fought by the Southern General Bragg. What was the 
result of each? Tell about General Sherman's march through Georgia; 
about the capture of the Mississippi River by the Federals. Name 
some important battles west of the Mississippi. 



THE DEFENSE OF RICHMOND 

General Lee's First Campaigns (1862-4). — The next 
year after the battle of Manassas another Northern army 
(under General McClellan) advanced against Richmond. 
In the "Seven Days' Battles/' 
near Richmond, General R. E. 
Lee, commanding the Southern 
army, drove back the enemy and 
saved the city. General Lee was 
greatly helped by General Stone- 
wall Jackson. Jackson defeated 
four different Northern armies 
in the Shenandoah Valley, and 
kept them from going to the aid 
of McClellan. 

In the battles of Second Ma- 
nassas, Fredericksburg, and 
Chancellorsville (all in Virginia) General Lee thrice 
defeated Union armies that were trying to capture 
Richmond. But the victory at Chancellorsville was 
dearly bought by the South. General Lee's ablest assist- 
ant, General Stonewall Jackson, was mistaken in the 
darkness for the enemy, and was mortally wounded by 
his own men. 

Twice General Lee crossed the Potomac River and 




GENERAL STONEWALL 
JACKSON. 



27O THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

invaded the North. In the first invasion a drawn battle 
was fought at Antietam Creek, Maryland. The North- 
ern general having received heavy reinforcements, Gen- 
eral Lee returned to Virginia. In Lee's second invasion 
the greatest battle of the war was fought near Gettys- 
burg, Pennsylvania. The Northern General Meade had 
one hundred thousand men ; Lee, seventy thousand. The 
fight lasted three days. On the third day a heroic charge 
by the Confederates was repulsed by overwhelming 
numbers of the Federals. Unable to drive back the 
superior forces of the enemy, Lee slowly retreated into 
Virginia. 

Fighting Between Lee and Grant. Surrender of Lee. — 

General Grant was now placed in command of the army 
opposed to Lee. His forces outnumbered Lee's three to 
one. Once more a great Northern army started toward 
Richmond. On the way the great battles of the Wilder- 
ness, Spottsylvania, and Cold Harbor were fought. Fi- 
nally, by overwhelming numbers, Lee was forced back to 
Petersburg, near Richmond. When Grant captured the 
town of Petersburg, Richmond was abandoned by the 
Confederates, and Lee began to retreat toward the south- 
west. At Appomattox Court House, seventy-five miles 
from Richmond, he encountered Grant's forces, number- 
ing over one hundred thousand men. Here, on April 9, 
1865, Lee gave up the struggle, and surrendered his little 
army, which was reduced to ten thousand soldiers. 
General Grant treated General Lee and the ragged, half- 
starved Confederates with the greatest kindness. He 
supplied them with food, and let them keep their horses 
to use in their farm work at home. When General Lee's 



THE WAR BETWEEN THE STATES 



27I 



army surrendered the other Confederate forces soon laid 
down their arms, and the great war was ended. 

Tell about the Seven Days' battles; about General Jackson's vic- 
tories; the battle of Chancellorsville; Lee's first invasion of the 
North; his second invasion; the fighting between the armies of Grant 
and Lee; the surrender of Lee; General Grant's conduct. 



AFTER THE SURRENDER 

General Robert E. Lee. — The greatest general of the 
Confederacy was Robert E. Lee. A native of Virginia, 
Lee had graduated at West 
Point, and had been a gallant 
officer in the Mexican War. 
When the war between the 
States broke out Lee was offered 
the chief command of the armies 
of the United States. But he 
declined the offer because he be- 
lieved it his duty to stand by his 
State. In the second year of the 
war he was placed in command 
of the Confederate army in Vir- 
ginia, and later was made com- 
mander in chief of all the South- general r. e. lee. 
ern forces. The army he commanded was never as large 
as that opposed to him — sometimes not half as large. 
Yet for three years he successfully defended Richmond, 
driving back one Northern army after another, and 
proving himself one of the greatest generals in the 
world. General Lee was not only a brave soldier and a 
great general, but he was also a modest Christian 




272 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

gentleman. When the war was over he became presi- 
dent of Washington College, in Virginia, and spent the 
rest of his life as a teacher of Southern boys. 

General U. S. Grant— The greatest general of the 
Northern, or Federal, armies was Ulysses S. Grant. 

Like Davis and Lee, Grant 
was a graduate of West Point 
Academy, and a brave officer 
in the Mexican War. During 
the first three years of the war 
between the States, General 
Grant commanded troops west 
of the Allegheny Mountains. 
On account of his victories in 
Kentucky, Tennessee, and 
Mississippi he was made com- 
mander in chief of all the 
Union forces, and was put 
in charge of the army in Virginia, which had been so 
often beaten by General Lee. General Grant afterward 
became President of the United States. He was an able 
general, and a generous, kind-hearted man. When he 
died several ex-Confederate generals showed their re- 
spect for his memory by attending his funeral. 

The Battles and Leaders of the War. — There is not 
space in this book to tell the story of the war. You must 
study it in large histories. Only a few of the most im- 
portant battles have been named. Both the soldiers 
who wore the "blue" and those who wore the "gray" 
showed the greatest bravery. Both fought for the 
cause they believed was right. Among the great gen- 




GENERAL U. S. GRANT; 






THE WAR BETWEEN THE STATES 273 

erals on the Confederate side, besides Robert E. Lee, 
were Stonewall Jackson, Albert Sidney Johnston, 
Joseph E. Johnston, Beauregard, Hood, Stuart, Forrest, 
Longstreet, S. D. Lee, Gordon. On the side of the 
Union were Generals Grant, Sherman, Rosecrans, Han- 
cock, Thomas, Sheridan, Meade, McClellan, and Hooker. 

Some Results of the War: Slavery — During the 
war President Lincoln decided that it would help to 
weaken the Confederacy to free the slaves. So he 
wrote his famous "Emancipation Proclamation/' de- 
claring free the slaves in those parts of the Confeder- 
acy not yet occupied by Northern armies. At the 
close of the war a change, or amendment, was added 
to the Constitution abolishing slavery in all parts of 
the United States. 

The Relation of the States to the Union. — Another 
amendment to the Constitution of the United States 
which was adopted as a result of the war, declared 
that "all persons born or naturalized in the United 
States are citizens of the United States and of the 
State wherein they reside." Before the adoption of 
this amendment the term "citizens of the United 
■ States" was not found in the Constitution. People 
! living in this country, if citizens at all, were citizens of 
'the several States, and the States alone fixed the con- 
ditions of citizenship. This amendment changed the 
basis of citizenship in this country, to that extent lim- 
iting the powers of the separate States, including the 
I right of secession in the future. 

Changed Feeling between North and South. — The 
i terrible war brought sorrow and suffering and death 



274 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

everywhere. The Southern people suffered most be- 
cause the fighting was on their soil. Their family circles 
were broken by death, their homes were destroyed, 
their farms laid waste, their stock killed. But bravely 
those who were left set to work to build up the old 
South, and make it even greater than before. North- 
ern and Southern people had learned to respect each 
other's courage; now they came to understand each 
other better. The war was like a great storm whose black 
clouds had long been gathering and whose thunders 
had been muttering in the distance. At last the tem- 
pest burst in its fury, carrying death and ruin in its 
path. But after a while its last echoes died away, the 
sun rose once more in splendor, the rainbow of promise 
spanned the heavens and the air seemed never so pure, 
nor the skies so clear. Our country, after the awful 
suffering caused by the war, was stronger, more 
united, more prosperous than ever before. 

Tell what you can about General R. E. Lee; about General U. 
Grant. What can you say of the soldiers on both sides? Nairn 
some of the leading Confederate generals; the leading Union gen- 
erals. Tell about the abolition of slavery; the suffering caused b: 
the war; the good results the war produced. 






CHAPTER XX 

Our Country Reunited 

Dark Days for the South— The suffering of the South 
did not end with the war. There was a period of "Re- 
construction" lasting five years or more, during which the 
Northern people as victors tried to govern the Southern 
people as subjects. Besides the amendment to the Con- 
stitution abolishing slavery, the Southern States were 
forced to accept two other amendments, which gave other 
privileges to the negroes and allowed them to vote. At 
the same time many of the best white citizens were not 
allowed to vote. The result was that ignorant and dis- 
honest men were elected to the offices, unjust laws were 
passed, good laws were not enforced, the people's money 
was wasted or stolen, and hatred between whites and 
blacks was aroused. United States soldiers were kept 
in the Southern States to uphold these incompetent State 
officers and enforce the bad laws. At last the people 
of the North came to see that it was best for both negroes 
and whites*to let the people of each State manage their 
own affairs. Accordingly, all white citizens in the 
South were once more allowed to vote, and the United 
States troops were withdrawn. The intelligent white 
citizens at once took charge of the State and county gov- 
ernments, and the Southern people began to be peaceful 
and contented. 

275 



276 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

Progress of the South. ___ 

— Since the close of the 
dark days of "Recon- 
struction" the South has *gr 
made wonderful progress. 
Southern people are glad 
that slavery is gone, and 
they would not restore it 
if they could. The old 
friendly feeling between 
the white and the black 
races that existed before 
the war is returning, as 
the negroes, freed from 
the control of the unprin- 
cipled Northern adventur- 
ers who flocked southward 
after the war, are learn- 
ing to shun politics and to 
become industrious work- 
ers. Southern farmers 
have ceased to depend on 
cotton and corn alone, and 
have begun to cultivate 
fruit, vegetables, and 
other crops. Coal, iron, 
and other minerals abound 
in several Southern States, and the mining industry now 
employs thousands of men and millions of capital. In- 
stead of shipping all their raw cotton to the North and to 
Eurpe to be made into cloth, Southern people have begun 







OUR COUNTRY REUNITED 2JJ 

to build their own cotton factories in sight of the cotton 
fields. In Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana great 
underground streams of oil have been discovered. 
Wells bored in this region bring the oil to the surface 
in huge fountains. Having alway maintained splendid 
private schools and colleges, the Southern States now 
also provide by taxation excellent public schools for 
white and for black children. 

Progress of the West.— The progress of the West 
since the war has been equally wonderful. Chicago, no 
longer a "Western frontier" town, has grown to be the 
second largest city in America. In 1869 the first rail- 
road to the Pacific Ocean was completed, connecting 
the East and the West. This and other Pacific rail- 
roads afterward built hastened the settlement of the 
great West. At the close of the war there were only 
five States beyond the row of States touching the west 
bank of the Mississippi River. Since then twelve 
States have been formed from this western region. 
Arizona, the last of the Territories, came into State- 
hood in 1912. 

New Territory Purchased in the Far North. — Two 
years after the close of the war between the States 
w^e bought the northwest corner of North America 
from Russia for seven million two hundred thousand 
dollars. We changed the name of our new purchase 
from Russian America to Alaska. This was the first 
territory acquired by us that did not touch any part of 
the United States. Alaska is more than twice as large 
as Texas, and though conditions are such that explo- 
rations progress slowly some wonderful gold and cop- 



278 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

per mines and some extensive coal fields have been 
discovered in sections most thoroughly investigated. 

Some Recent Inventions.— Since the war a number 
of inventions have come into use that have greatly 
changed the life of our people. The electric light is 
taking the place of the gas light and the oil lamp. Tele- 
phones now make it possible for persons hundreds of 




Underwood & Underwood, N. Y. 

NAVAL SEAPLANE N C-4 THE FIRST TO MAKE A SUCCESSFUL FLIGHT 

ACROSS THE ATLANTIC OCEAN 

miles apart to talk to each other. Electric cars have 
taken the place of horse cars in the cities. More 
recently, instead of buggies, carriages, freight and 
delivery wagons drawn by horses, we meet automobiles 
and motor trucks upon the roads and highways through- 
out the country. Bicycles and motorcycles save 
many a weary step. Ice machines have changed ice 
from a luxury which only the rich could afford to a 
comfort in reach of the poorest. Typewriting machines 
are taking the place of pen and ink. The wireless tele- 
graph and wireless telephone have made it possible 
for passengers on ships hundreds of miles apart to send 



OUR COUNTRY REUNITED 279 

the distant land. Airships now carry adventurous 
'"birdmen" through the air at a speed greater than the 
fastest express train. To our grandfathers the story 
bf these changes would have seemed like a fairy tale. 
World's Fairs. — The American people delight to 
celebrate birthdays and anniversaries. In 1876 we 
celebrated the one hundredth anniversary of the Decla- 
ration of Independence by our first World's Fair. It 
was called the Centennial Exposition, and was held 
it Philadelphia. In 1892-3 we celebrated the four 
hundredth anniversary of the discovery of America by 
:he great Columbian Exposition at Chicago. The one 
lundredth anniversary of the purchase of Louisiana 
vas celebrated by a World's Fair held at St. Louis in 
.903-4. In 1915 the Panama Exposition was held 
tt San Francisco to celebrate the completion of the 
D anama Canal. 

France's Gift.— To show their friendship for the 
Jnited States the people of France presented us with 
n immense statue called "Liberty Enlightening the 
Vorld." The statue stands on an island at the en- 
rance to New York Harbor. It is so large that inside 
he head of "Liberty" is a room big enough to hold 
lorty persons. A picture of this statue is on the out- 
ide of the cover of this book. 

Tell about the suffering of the South during "Reconstruction" days. 
what conclusion did the North finally come? What was the 
-suit? Tell something of the progress of the South since Recon- 
duction; the progress of the West; the purchase of Alaska; our 
miversary expositions; France's gift. 



CHAPTER XXI 

The War to Make Cuba Free 

Story of the War 

We Take Up Cuba's Fight — In 1898 we went to war 
with Spain — the first European nation we had fought 
since the War of 181 2. Spain had once owned all the 
islands of the West Indies. One by one they had been 
taken from her until only Cuba and Porto Rico re- 
mained in her possession. The 
people of these Spanish islands were 
wretchedly governed, and time and 
again the Cubans took up arms to 
throw off the rule of their mas- 
ters. But the Spaniards always 
conquered them, and ruled more 
cruelly than ever. The people of 
the United States felt sorry for 
their Cuban neighbors. We tried 
to get Spain to rule the island more 
mildly. But the Spaniards were 
suspicious of us, and did not like our sympathy with the 
Cubans. While one of our finest battleships, the Maine, 
was visiting the harbor of Havana, Cuba, she was blown 
up, and over two hundred of her sailors were killed in 
the explosion. The people of the United States be- 
lieved this cowardly deed was done by Spanish officers, 

280 




Admiral dewey. 



THE WAR TO MAKE CUBA FREE 



28l 



or that they allowed it to be done. Congress then di- 
rected the President to use the army and navy of the 
United States to drive the Spanish from Cuba, if they 
still refused to set the island free. 

Fighting in the Philippines — War began April 21, 
1898. The first great battle was fought in the Pacific 
Ocean three thousand miles from our coast. Com- 
modore Dewey, with a fleet of our ships, was stationed 

at Hongkong, China. He sailed 
against the Philippine Islands, 
owned by Spain, and without 
losing one of his own men at- 
tacked and completely destroyed 
the Spanish ships in the harbor 
of Manila, the chief city of the 
Philippines. For his splendid 
success Congress voted to present 
Commodore Dewey with a sword, 
and the President promoted him 
from commodore to admiral, the 
highest rank in the navy. 
In the West Indies. Hobson's Brave Deed. — Mean- 
while Spain sent another fleet to guard Cuba. These 
Spanish vessels sailed into the harbor of Santiago, on 
the Cuban coast. An American fleet under Admiral 
Sampson, with Commodore Schley next in command, 
stood outside the harbor, ready to give battle to the 
Spanish ships if they should venture out. The entrance 
to the harbor of Santiago is a narrow winding channel, 
guarded by forts, so it was impossible for our ships to 
get inside the harbor. Lieutenant Hobson offered to 




LIEUTENANT HOBSON. 



282 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

obstruct this narrow channel, and thus "bottle up" the 
Spanish ships and prevent their escape. With seven 
volunteers he took a coal ship, the Merrimac, into the 
channel, and sunk her partly across it. Hobson and his 
men hurried from the sinking ship and floated off on a 
raft they had brought with them for this purpose. They 
were captured by the Spaniards, but their captors in 




Copyright Underwood and Underwood. 

BATTLESHIP ALABAMA. 



admiration for their brave deed treated them with great 
kindness. 

Land Attack on Santiago — United States forces were 
landed to attack the city of Santiago. Our soldiers, after 
sharp fighting, drove the Spaniards from El Caney and 
San Juan, outposts of Santiago, into the city itself. Our 



THE WAR TO MAKE CUBA FREE 



283 






army was commanded by General Shaf ter. Among the 
brave officers who helped win the victory were General 
Joe Wheeler, a famous Confederate cavalry leader, and 
Colonels Wood and Roosevelt, of the "Rough Riders," a 
regiment composed chiefly of Western cowboys, but in- 
cluding also many college men from the East. 

Destruction of the Spanish Fleet Ends the War. — 

The Spanish Admiral Cervera, finding that the sunken 
Merrimac did not wholly 
block the channel, one Sun- 
day morning, in the hope of 
escaping, started out with his 
fleet. His ships were at once 
pursued by the vessels of 
our fleet, under Commodore 
Schley (Admiral Sampson be- 
ing absent at the time). The 
Spaniards made a brave fight, 
but in less than three hours 
every one of their ships was 
disabled, and Admiral Cer- 
vera was a prisoner. Beaten 
in every battle, Spain was 
now ready to give up. On August 12, 1898, both sides 
agreed to stop fighting and the Spanish war came to a close. 







ADMIRAL SAMPSON. 



RESULTS OF THE WAR 

Our First Island Territory.— The war lasted less than 
four months. In the treaty of peace Spain agreed to 
give up all claim to Cuba, the people of the United 
States to decide what should be done with the island. 



284 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 



Spain also agreed to let us have the island of Porto 
Rico, and to sell us the Philippine Islands for twenty 
million dollars. 

Cuba and the Philippines.— The Congress of the 
United States promised to withdraw our soldiers from 
Cuba and let the Cubans form a government of their 
own. In 1902 this promise was carried out and Cuba 

became an independent repub- 
lic. Some of the Filipino peo- 
ple, under their leader, Agui- 
naldo, wanted their country also 
to be independent, and they 
fought to keep our troops from 
taking possession of the island. 
They were beaten, however, and 
Aguinaldo himself was cap- 
tured. 

The United States has estab- 
lished schools for the Filipinos 
and is educating the ignorant 
natives to prepare them for self-government. 

Hawaii Annexed. — The President and Congress of 
the Hawaiian Islands, in the Pacific Ocean, two thou- 
sand miles soutlrwest of San Francisco, had once ap- 
plied for annexation to the United States, but we had 
refused to admit them. They again applied during 
our war with Spain; we annexed the islands, and they 
became subject to the United States. 

The Panama Canal. — Events of the Spanish War 
convinced us that we must have a waterway across 
the Isthmus of Panama in order that our warships 




; \u 



ADMIRAL SCHLEY 



THE WAR TO MAKE CUBA FREE 285 

might be able, when necessary, to hurry to the defense 
of our Island possessions. Moreover, we realized that 
a canal across the Isthmus would save our merchant 
vessels trading between Atlantic and Pacific ports the 
long journey around South America and would shorten 
the distance from New York to San Francisco by 
8000 miles. In 1903 we obtained from the little repub- 
lic of Panama a strip of land ten miles wide across 
the Isthmus and through this "canal zone" we set to 
work digging a canal at the rate of five hundred 
train loads of dirt removed each day. 

The Conquest of Panama Mosquitoes. — The great- 
est difficulty encountered in digging the canal was not 
the leveling of mountains, nor the control of sw 7 ift 
rivers, nor the employment of thousands of laborers, 
nor the installation of giant machinery; the greatest 
difficulty and the greatest achievement w r as the con- 
quest of the Panama mosquito. In the lakes and 
pools and swamps of that moist, tropical land swarms 
of mosquitoes were bred. Through the bite of these 
insects were carried the germs of yellow fever and 
malaria, while accompanying unsanitary conditions 
developed typhoid fever and other dread diseases. 
The United States government sent an army surgeon, 
Dr. William C. Gorgas, to Panama, with authority to 
clean up the canal zone. Under his direction weeds 
and brush were burned, swamps were drained, marshy 
places were oiled and garbage cans were provided. 
As a result, the mosquitoes were banished and the canal 
zone was transformed from one of the sickliest to one 
of the most healthful regions in the world. 



286 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

Completion of the Canal.— With health conditions 
established, other difficulties soon yielded to American 
courage and American genius. Colonel George W. 
Goethals, of the U. S. Army, was placed in charge of 
the work. Ten years after the first spadeful of dirt 
was shoveled the "great ditch" was completed at a 
total cost of $375,000,000. In 1914 the first ship 
sailed through the canal, and Columbus' dream of a 
direct western waterway from the old world to India 
at last came true. The canal is fifty miles long. Fif- 
teen miles of it is level with the ocean, the rest is 
higher. Ships are lifted by the water in giant locks, 
three steps, to a water level eighty-five feet above the 
surface of the ocean. They sail on this level for thirty- 
five miles, then are let down by three other locks to 
the sea level again. Both ends of the canal are pro- 
tected by fortifications strong enough to defy any 
attack by sea or land. In 1915 a great World's Fair 
known as the Panama Exposition was held in San 
Francisco to celebrate the completion of the canal. 

In what year did we go to war with Spain? Tell about Spain's rule 
of her West Indian Islands ; our sympathy with the Cubans ; the blowing 
up of the Maine; the action of Congress. Tell about the battle of 
Manila; the honors to Commodore Dewey. Where did Spain send 
another fleet? Where did Sampson and Schley station our ships? Tell 
about Hobson's brave deed; the land attack on Santiago; the destruction 
of the Spanish fleet. How long did the war last? What was agreed 
upon in the treaty of peace? What has Congress promised the Cubans? 
Tell about Aguinaldo's resistance in the Philippines; the annexation of 
Hawaii. What were the two greatest results of the war? Why was it 
necessary that the United States build the Canal across the Isthmus? 
What difficulties were met and how overcome? Describe the Canal. 
Tell its cost and the time required to construct it. Compare this canal 
with other great canals of the world. 



CHAPTER XXII 



The Indians Made Citizens 



An Indian Inventor 



Sequoyah's Boyhood. — At the time that George Wash- 
ington was fighting his country's battles in the War of 
the Revolution, there was living with his mother in what 
is now the State of Tennessee (then the western part 

*of North Carolina) an Indian boy 
named Sequoyah. Like most In- 
dian lads, Sequoyah was a skillful 
hunter. He was able to support 
himself and his mother by selling 
to the white settlers the furs and 
hides of the animals he trapped 
or killed. Sequoyah did not spend 
all his time in hunting. He loved 
to visit the homes of the whites 
and to watch the blacksmiths and 
Carpenters at their work. He be- 
came a good blacksmith himself 
and could make a horseshoe or mend a broken wagon asi 
skillfully as the best workman. He also learned to be 
a silversmith. The settlers brought to him their old 
battered silver forks, spoons and ornaments, and he 
melted them and made new articles of beautiful design. 

287 




SEQUOYAH. 



288 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

So, although Sequoyah did not have the advantage of 
going to school, yet he was quick to use his mind, his 
eyes, and his hands. He learned to do things and to 
do them well. Many white boys and girls could learn 
a lesson from the example of this young Indian. 

Sequoyah Invents an Alphabet — Sequoyah belonged to 
the Cherokee tribe of Indians. The Cherokee language 
was a spoken language only, its words had never been 
written or printed. After Sequoyah had grown to man- 
hood there came into his hands by chance an old spell- 



THE LORD'S PRAYER IN CHEROKEE., 
<&yr& »aw«z.?A &a«r»jr<r waa s=avrr. <?E®<r*a imi 

<*$03Ul , r. DltB&d ®b*f£fe o^&CKSc&ElV O^Vcd WW*l fc>h$fe3JCofr. 

■hvvwn- *$f ofc^BJE <&yn» aa m. JL&&yzh<v«z s^ysET> e<$y<a 

Isya^^s^^o^a^^yix <y>B *»:bt. &fx*$z j <£&&&*• mot* d8 
&?hya& :mst, b<t •' B&4^*i<r wg /Iijjmt. Bono* 



THE LORD'S PRAYER IN CHEROKEE. 



ing book used by children of the white settlers. His 
inquiring mind led him to ask questions about the book 
He was told that the characters (or groups of letters) 
stood for words of the spoken language. He determined 
to make some characters by means of which his own 
beautiful Cherokee language could be written, so that 
his people could learn to read and write their own speech. 
Noticing that the same syllables, occurred in different 
words, he decided to make each letter in his new alpha- 
bet stand for a distinct syllable. He took from the spell- 



THE INDIANS MADE CITIZENS 289 

ing book capitals, small letters, italics, figures — some 
upside down — then added some new characters of his 
own devising, until he had an alphabet of eighty-five 
characters, each of which represented a syllable. By 
means of this alphabet every sound in the Cherokee 
language could be expressed. It was adopted by the 
tribe and came into general use. Although Sequoyah's 
alphabet has two and one-half times as many letters 
as the English, yet after the Cherokee child has mas- 
tered his alphabet he has no more trouble with reading, 
and hard spelling lessons are unknown. It is said that 
Sequoyah could teach any Cherokee, old or young, to 
read and write his language in three weeks. 

Sequoyah Moves West. The Indian Territory. — 
Soon after completing his great invention, Sequoyah 
moved westward and made his home among the Cher- 
okees west of the Mississippi. ' In 1832 Congress set 
aside the Indian Territory to be the home of the tribes 
that had removed from Southern States east of the 
Mississippi. In 1850, four years after Texas was ad- 
mitted to the Union, she sold to the United States the 
strip of land north of the "Panhandle" and it was added 
to Indian Territory. The Indian Territory became the 
home of the "Five Civilized Nations/'- — the Cherokees, 
Chickasaws, Choctaws, Creeks and Seminoles. When 
an old man, Sequoyah wandered southwest. He died 
somewhere in northern Mexico when over eighty years 
old. 

The Coming' of the Whites. Oklahoma Territory. — 

When the Indian Territory was formed the whites 
were forbidden by law to settle within its limits. Later 



29O THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 






the western part of the Territory was transferred to the 
United States by the tribes owning it. These vacant 
lands were then opened to settlement. April 22, 1889, 
was fixed as the day on which expectant settlers were 
permitted to "cross the line" into the coveted land. 
United States troops kept the vast crowd in order until 
noon of the appointed day, when, at a blast from a 
bugle, men on horseback, on foot, and in all kinds of 
vehicles set out in a mad race for the best lands. Be- 
fore night towns w T ere laid out. Fifty thousand per- 
sons entered the Territory the first day. Additional 
lands were afterward thrown open for settlement. In 
1890 this western region was organized as Oklahoma 
Territory, with Guthrie as its capital. 

THE LAST TERRITORIES BECOME STATES 

The Two Territories United as a New State. — Not 

long after Oklahoma was formed, the tribal lands in 
the Indian Territory were divided by the United States 
Government into small tracts, which were given to the 
Indians separately. The Indians were no longer treated 
as children but were declared by law to be citizens of 
the United States, with rights and duties similar to 
those of other citizens. In 1907, Oklahoma and Indian 
Territories were admitted into the Union as the new 
State of Oklahoma, of which Oklahoma City became 
the capital. 

The State of Oklahoma. — Oklahoma is our forty- 
sixth State, and the last remnant of the great Louisi- 
ana Territory to enter Statehood. The name Okla- 
homa is an Indian word for "Beautiful Land." The 



THE INDIANS MADE CITIZENS 29I 

fertility of its soil, the variety of its resources, and the 
beauty of its scenery justify its name. The new State 
entered the Union with a population six times as large, 
and with wealth fifty times as great, as any other 
State had when admitted. Its Constitution contains 
some notable features. Among them may be mentioned 
the provisions for abolishing trust, for controlling rail- 
roads and other corporations, and for prohibiting the 
manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquor in the 
State. 

Oklahoma's Neighbors, Arizona and New Mexico. — 

After the admission of Oklahoma as a State the only 
Territories remaining (excluding Alaska and our island 
possessions) were New Mexico and Arizona. There 
were many Indians among the inhabitants of both these 
territories. In 1911 and 1912 these last Territories 
became States, bringing the total number of States 
to forty-eight. 



CHAPTER XXIII 

The World War for the Freedom of Mankind 
President Wilson Averts War With Mexico 

The Presidential Election of 1912.— In 1912 the 
three new States took part, for the first time, in the 
presidential election, as Territories had no voice in 
such elections. In this election the Republican party, 
which had elected most of the presidents since the 
War between the States, was divided, as the Demo- 
cratic party was in i860 (see page 271). The regular 
Republicans nominated President William H. Taft 
for a second term. A large faction of the -party, 
known as "Progressives," disagreeing with the views 
and methods of the "Regulars," formed a new party, 
sometimes called the "Bull Moose" party. The new 
party nominated ex-president Roosevelt, of New 
York, as its candidate for President. The Demo- 
crats chose Governor Woodrow Wilson, of New Jer- 
sey, as their candidate. There were other parties 
with their candidates, but the three just mentioned 
were far in the lead in all parts of the country. The 
result of the election was a great victory for the 
Democrats. Governor Wilson was elected as our 
twenty-seventh president. 

292 



THE WORLD WAR FOR THE FREEDOM OF MANKIND 293 




A Southern President. — Woodrow Wilson was 
born in Virginia and spent his boyhood in Georgia 
and the Carolinas. He graduated at Princeton Uni- 
versity in New Jersey and later 
became president of that institu- 
tion. The people of New Jersey 
elected him governor of their 
State and, while holding this 
office, he was chosen president of 
the United States. Woodrow 
Wilson was the first Southern 
man to be elected president in 
more than fifty years. His elec- 
tion was an assurance that the 
North and South are a united 
people. 

After serving tour years he was re-elected president 
for a second term. During his second administration 
the great World War was fought. President Wil- 
son's wise management of the many vexing problems 
of his administration, his justice in his statement of 
the terms of peace which would be acceptable to the 
United States, and his great work in the Peace Con- 
ference gave him a commanding influence among the 
people of all nations. 

Important Laws.— During President Wilson's ad- 
ministration many important laws were passed by 
Congress. One of these was the income tax lav/ 
requiring every person whose total income is above a 
certain sum to pay a tax in proportion to the amount 
of his income. Another tax law known as the Under- 



WOODROW WILSON 



294 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

wood tariff law (from the Congressman who intro- 
duced it) reduced the tariff. Other new laws im- 
proved the banking system of the country and pro- 
vided for the establishment of Farm Loan Banks, 
enabling farmers to borrow money at reasonable rates 
of interest. Another law provided for the building of 
a government owned railway a thousand miles long in 
Alaska. 

Affairs in Mexico.— When Woodrow Wilson be- 
came President of the United States the people of our 
neighboring country, Mexico, were having troublous 
times. Porfirio Diaz, who had been President of Mex- 
ico for nearly thirty years, had recently retired from 
office. Diaz had ruled the ignorant Mexican masses 
with an iron hand, maintaining order and in the main 
enforcing justice. After him no leader appeared 
capable of commanding the respect and obedience of 
the Mexican people and the unfortunate country was 
plunged into civil war. Neither life nor property was 
safe. Many Americans living in Mexico were killed 
and their property was seized. Mexican bandits 
crossed from Mexico into Texas and New Mexico to 
rob and murder American citizens and then escape in 
safety across the border. 

President Wilson's Mexican Policy. — These out- 
rages caused a widespread demand in the United 
States that we send an army into Mexico, take charge 
of the government, establish order, and protect our 
citizens. President Wilson steadfastly refused to be 
drawn into war, insisting that the Mexican people 
should be allowed to settle their own quarrels and 






THE WORLD WAR FOR THE FREEDOM OF MANKIND 295 

establish their own government. He recognized Gen- 
eral Carranza as President of Mexico, and stationed 
our troops along the border to keep down trouble 
between lawless citizens of both countries. 

General Pershing's Expedition into Mexico. — 

Finally when the Mexican rebel leader, Villa, invaded 
New Mexico, attacked the town of Columbus, and 
killed a number of soldiers and citizens, President 
Wilson at once ordered General John J. Pershing to 
lead an army in pursuit of Villa's murderous band. 
The American army advanced far into Mexico, driv- 
ing the fleeing bandits into the mountainous deserts. 
Their forces were scattered, but Villa himself escaped. 
The good conduct of our soldiers on this expedition 
into Mexico did much to convince the Mexicans of 
the friendliness of our government toward law-abid- 
ing classes. 

WAR WITH GERMANY 

War in Europe.— Soon after President Wilson's 
second term began a war broke out in Europe which 
proved to be the most terrible war in the history of 
the world, in the number of nations and men engaged, 
the millions of lives lost, and the awful human suffer- 
ing and destruction of property caused. The leading 
nations on one side were Germany, Austria, Turkey, 
and Bulgaria; on the other side Russia, France, Eng- 
land, Belgium, and Italy. Early in the war many dis- 
agreements came up between the United States and 
the warring nations. There were controversies with 
England over the seizure of cargoes on our merchant 
ships bound for the neutral nations, Sweden, Den- 



296 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

mark, and Holland, the British claiming that these 
cargoes were intended for Germany and therefore 
were rightfully seized. Our disagreements with Eng- 
land were all settled peaceably; not so with our con- 
troversies with Germany. 

Troubles with Germany.— Germany, unable to 
match her battle fleets with those of her enemies, 
undertook a new method of warfare with submarine 
boats in the hope of wresting from England the mas- 
tery of the seas. These submarine boats, armed with 
torpedoes, attacked and sunk without warning British 
merchant and passenger ships, some of which carried 
American passengers. When the British steam- 
ship Lusitania was sunk by a German submarine, 
more than one thousand of her passengers, men, 
women, and children, were drowned, including one 
hundred and fourteen Americans. This cruel outrage 
caused a blaze of indignation throughout the United 
States. President Wilson was urged to declare war 
on Germany at once. However, when the German 
Government agreed to make reparation in money for 
the lives lost and promised not to attack unarmed 
ships in the future without warning, war was averted. 
But feeling against Germany was again aroused by 
the discovery of a plot formed by German officials 
in the United States to array Mexico against our gov- 
ernment, part of the plan being that Mexico seize 
Texas and New Mexico. 

The United States Enters the War Against Germany. 

— Driven to desperation in her efforts to prevent 
supply ships from reaching her enemies, Germany 



THE WORLD WAR FOR THE FREEDOM OF MANKIND 297 

proclaimed a War Zone on the ocean, through which 
she forbade all ships whether neutral or enemy, armed 
or unarmed, to pass on pain of being destroyed by her 
submarines without warning. This attempt to limit 
the right of neutral nations to "the freedom of the 
seas" — a right recognized through all the centuries — 
was the last straw that broke the camel's back. On 
April 2, 1917, President Wilson addressed to Congress 
his famous war message setting forth the wrongs our 
people had suffered from the German government and 
asking Congress to declare that a state of war existed 
between that nation and the United States. 

Raising Funds for the War.— Congress promptly 
declared that war existed with Germany, and began to 
make preparations for the mighty conflict. Federal 
taxes were increased and many new taxes added. Our 
citizens were asked to loan our own government $2,000,- 
000,000 to meet the expenses of the war. The request 
met a prompt and hearty response. This first "Liberty 
Loan" was followed by a second, a third, and a fourth. 
A final war loan, known as the "Victory Loan" was 
subscribed in the spring of 1919. The purchase of 
Thrift Stamps and War Savings Stamps was another 
means by which children and persons of small means 
were enabled to lend their money to "Uncle Sam" in 
order to help win the war. 

Armies, Waxships and Airmen. — Plans were made 
for raising and training an army of from one to four 
million men. As fast as the men were enrolled they 
were stationed in army camps and cantonments in 
different parts of the country. Here they received 



298 



THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 




9*^ 

GENERAL PERSHING 



their training as soldiers before being sent to France, 
Our navy was increased by the 
addition of many new battleships, 
submarine destroyers and other 
war vessels, while thousands of 
men were enlisted as sailors or 
marines and sent to naval train- 
ing camps or to training ships on 
the Great Lakes and on our ocean 
coasts. We hastened to build 
great numbers of transport ships 
to carry our troops and supplies 
to France. We began the con- 
struction of more than 20,000 air- 
planes, and the establishment of aviation schools to 
train the men to use them. Never in the history of 
the world was so large an army raised, trained, and 
equipped in so short a time. 

State of the War in Europe when America Entered 
the Fight— When America entered the War, things 
were looking dark for the allies. The great struggle 
had been going on nearly three years, and while the 
Germans had not succeeded in capturing Paris, yet 
their armies were within cannon shot of the city. 
Nearly all of Belgium and a large strip of northern 
France were in possession of German troops. The 
withdrawal of Russia's armies from the war, as a 
result of a revolution in that country, had raised the 
hopes of the Germans and had greatly discouraged 
the allies. The allied armies in France were now out- 
numbered by their enemies, and though they were 



THE WORLD WAR FOR THE FREEDOM OF MANKIND 299 

still fighting with magnificent courage, they were 
exhausted by the long struggle. At this critical time 
the United States heeded the call of freedom and 
threw the weight of her giant strength into the con- 
flict. 
American Soldiers Arrive in France. — The 

Germans now made a supreme effort to conquer the 
allied armies before the Americans could arrive. In 
the spring of 1918 another great attack, or "offensive," 
against Paris and the ports on the English Channel 
was started by the German armies. The allied line 
of defense in northern France was pushed back to 
within thirty-five miles of the French capital. Mean- 
while, hundreds of thousands of soldiers from Amer- 
ican training camps were speeding across the ocean 
as fast as British and American ships could carry 
them. By May 1918 we had half a million soldiers 
in France, and for the first time in history an Ameri- 
can army faced an enemy on European soil. The 
War Council representing the Americans and our 
allies placed a French officer, General Ferdinand 
Foch, in supreme command of all the allied armies. 
Our own General Pershing placed all American forces 
at the disposal of General Foch. The Americans were 
at first stationed or "brigaded" with French and British 
armies, and not as separate units. 

The Tide Turned.— Our troops soon won the 
admiration of the veteran soldiers of Europe by their 
splendid fighting qualities. The fortified village of 
Cantigny was attacked and captured by the Americans. 
At Chateau Thierrv, a town on the Marne, the French 



300 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

forces were being driven back, when a division of 
American Marines was rushed to the front. They 
arrived in trucks and cattle cars, disembarked almost 
upon the field of battle, and hurried forward without 
waiting for their artillery. They stormed ahead right 
through the midst of a retreating French division. 
"Don't go in this direction! There are the boches 
with machine guns/' some Frenchmen called out in 
warning. They shouted back: "That's where we 
want to go. That's where we've come three thousand 
miles to go !" With rifle and bayonet they checked the 
fierce onset of the enemy and turned the tide of battle 
toward victory. At Belleau Wood another brilliant 
victory was won, and in honor of the courage of our 
troops the French changed the name of the place to 
the Wood of the American Marines. 

American Victories.— In September, 1918, an 
American army commanded by General Pershing was 
assigned the task of driving back the Germans from 
what was known as the St. Mihiel Salient. General 
Foch allotted our men ten days for the work. They 
accomplished it in thirty hours, capturing 15,000 pris- 
oners and vast military stores. A few weeks later the 
victory of Argonne Forest was won. 

Close of the War. — Meanwhile great victories 
were won by the British in Palestine where the city 
of Jerusalem was captured from the Turks; by the 
Italians assisted by allied troops in northern Italy; 
and by allied armies consisting chiefly of British, 
French, and Belgian troops in northern France. The 
Germans were driven almost completely out of 



THE WORLD WAR FOR THE FREEDOM OF MANKIND 30 1 

France, and part of Belgium was recaptured. Ger- 
many's allies one after another now began to desert 
her. In September, Bulgaria surrendered; in Octo- 
ber Turkey gave up; and on November 3rd Austria 
followed suit. Germany asked for an armistice. The 
terms were fixed by General Foch and the allied gen- 
erals, amounting to a complete surrender of Germany. 
These terms were finally signed on November 5th, 
and fighting ceased at 11 o'clock on November 11, 
1918. The World War was at an end. 

The Peace Conference.— Representatives of the 
five leading allied nations — France, England, United 
States, Italy, and Belgium — invited the other nations 
of the world, except Germany and her allies, to join 
them in a Peace Conference to agree upon the terms 
of peace for the conquered nations as well as upon 
other matters affecting the future welfare of the 
world. The conference met in Paris in January 1919. 
No other meeting of such importance was ever held. 
President Wilson was the leading representative of 
the United States at the Conference. His speeches 
and messages during the progress of the war had led 
the people of all countries to place the highest confi- 
dence in his justice and wisdom. For this reason, 
and as representing the mighty republic whose aid 
had brought victory to the allied armies, and as the 
first American President to visit Europe during his 
official term, President Wilson was enthusiastically 
welcomed in all the European countries visited by 
him, and he exerted a commanding influence in the 
deliberations of the Conference. 



302 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

Food and the War. — Raising and equipping armies 
was not the only nor the greatest problem connected 
with the war. Battles cannot be won when the bodies 
of the men are weakened by insufficient food. To 
provide food for our own armies and those of our 
allies as well as for the people of the allied countries 
was essential to winning the war. England, France, 
Belgium, and Italy were unable to supply all the 
food needed for their people, even in times of peace. 
In times of war, with millions of their men taken from 
the farms to fight in the armies, the deficiency in 
home-raised food becomes much greater. On the 
other hand, the United States is the great food-pro- 
ducing country of the world. We produce enough 
food for ourselves and export great quantities to 
foreign lands. The war vastly increased the demand 
upon our country for food. Wheat flour, meat (beef 
and pork) and sugar were the foodstuffs most needed 
by our allies. In response to appeals of the govern- 
ment, our people observed certain "wheatless," 
"meatless," and "porkless" meals and days each week, 
eating substitute foods at these times, in order that 
our hungry allies might be fed with the food thus 
saved from our abundance. Greater food crops were 
planted than ever before, children as well as adults 
entering enthusiastically into this patriotic service. 

Government Control of Railroads and Other Pub- 
lic Interests. — To carry on the war successfully 
it was found to be absolutely necessary that troops 
and supplies be transported from one part of the coun- 
try to another without delay. As long as the rail- 



THE WORLD WAR FOR THE FREEDOM OF MANKIND 



303 




roads were owned and controlled by different private 
owners the rapid movement of troop and freight trains 
was impossible; accordingly Congress passed a law 

authorizing the Government of 
the United States to take charge 
of and control all railroads in 
the country during the period of 
the war. William G. McAdoo, 
Secretary of the Treasury, was 
appointed Director General of 
all the railroads of the United 
States. The government also 
began to regulate shipping by 
taking control of freight carried 
in ships. Moreover, in order 
that the use of our ships, loco- 
motives and factories might not be hindered by lack 
of fuel, the government took control of the produc- 
tion, sale, and transportation of fuel. Telegraph and 
telephone lines and the railway express business were 
also taken under government management. 

Liquor and the War.— Military authorities agreed 
that armies could not be efficient when the men are 
given to liquor drinking and immorality. Laws were 
passed forbidding the sale of liquor to soldiers, and 
protecting them as far as possible from all forms of 
vice. Public sentiment in favor of state and national 
prohibition grew rapidly as a result of the war. In 
December, 1917, Congress submitted to the States a 
constitutional amendment prohibiting the manufac- 
ture and sale of liquor throughout the United States 



WILLIAM G. M ADOO 



304 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

and their possessions. By January 16, 1919, this 
amendment had been ratified by the required number 
of states and was declared a part of the national 
constitution. 

The Red Cross.— The Red Cross is a society for 
the relief and prevention of suffering and distress in 
all lands and among all classes of people, its well 
known emblem being a red cross on a white field. 
The society exists in all civilized countries. The 
American Red Cross was founded by Clara Barton in 
1882. The necessity of relieving the suffering caused 
by the war wonderfully increased the activities of the 
Red Cross. Within a year the membership of this 
society had grown to over 23,000,000. During the 
first year of the war more than $200,000,000 was con- 
tributed by our people to the American Red Cross. 
Red Cross chapters were established in nearly every 
county in the United States. By the skillful and 
patient fingers of many thousands of Red Cross 
women, garments and surgical dressings were made 
in vast quantities for our soldiers. The schools of the 
country were organized as Junior Red Cross Auxil- 
iaries. As members of the Junior Red Cross, our boys 
and girls under the direction of their teachers engaged 
in studies and activities that made them better and 
more useful citizens and also enabled them to render 
direct service in winning the war. 

The Young Men's Christian Association. — With the 
entering of our country into the European war, the 
American Y. M. C. A. set itself to the great task of 
serving the men in our training camps and armies. As- 



THE WORLD WAR FOR THE FREEDOM OF MANKIND 305 

sociation buildings were erected and motion pictures, 
entertainments, concerts, educational classes, games, 
and Bible-study meetings were provided. The Young 
Women's Christian Association, the Knights of Colum- 
bus, and the Salvation Army also rendered great service 
to our troops. 

A United People. — This chapter has shown how 
the great war drew the hearts of the people of the 
United States together as never before. In every sec- 
tion of the country — north and south, east and west — 
workingmen, farmers, merchants, professional men, 
men of every trade and calling, rich and poor, old and 
young, women wage earners, women in the homes, 
children in the schools — all were united in a passion- 
ate love of country and a determination to make every 
sacrifice needed to support our Government and help 
our armies in the winning of the war. Our people thus 
made a splendid response to the following summons of 
President Wilson: "Let us all think together, act to- 
gether, serve together/' in the great struggle to pre- 
serve human rights and to make the world safe for 
democracy. 

Looking Backward.— Looking backward over the 
history of our country, we see that more than four 
hundred years have passed since the shores of Amer- 
ica were first visited by Columbus. In the year 1500 
European sailors had just begun to venture in the 
track of Columbus across the dreaded ocean to the 
unknown shores of the New World. One hundred 
years later (1600) the vast continent was still the 
home of wild animals and savage Indians, undisturbed 



306 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

by the white man save by wandering bands of explor- 
ers and by a few Spanish settlers in Florida and in 
Mexico. Turning the page till another hundred years 
have passed (1700), we find the home-building Eng- 
lishmen have begun to occupy America. A row of 
struggling English colonies lines the Atlantic coast. 
Back of the Englishmen are the settlements of their 
enemies the French; south of them, the territory of 
the no less hated Spaniards. Another century brings 
us to the year 1800. What mighty changes do we 
see! The English-speaking settlers now own the 
country as far west as the Mississippi River. The 
independence of the English colonies has been 
declared and won, and a new nation has been born, 
the United States of America. In 1900 another hun- 
dred years have passed. How appears our country 
today in the dawn of the twentieth century? A great 
and powerful nation whose territory stretches from 
ocean to ocean, and from the Lakes to the Gulf, and 
includes distant islands of the seas; a government 
whose flag is respected in every quarter of the globe ; 
a people contented, prosperous, and happy, the cham- 
pions of freedom, the friends of the weak and the 
oppressed in every land; filled with the spirit of love 
and helpfulness for each other; enjoying the blessings 
of freedom and good government to a degree rarely 
equaled, and nowhere excelled on the face of the 
globe. 

The Future.— Every American has a right to be 
proud of our country. It is our country. It belongs 
to every one of us. Our fathers have made it what 



THE WORLD WAR FOR THE FREEDOM OF MANKIND 307 

it is today. Who can tell what the next century has 
in store for us ? Shall our beloved country go onward 
and upward in the path of honor and service? Every 
boy and girl who reads this book will help to answer 
this question. If the children of America grow up 
truthful and pure and brave, proud of their country, 
and loving God and their fellowmen; if they have the 
wisdom of Benjamin Franklin, the patriotism of 
George Washington, the rugged honesty of Abraham 
Lincoln, the devotion to duty of Robert E. Lee, and 
Woodrow Wilson's love of freedom for all mankind — 
if they copy the virtues of their fathers and avoid 
their faults, the future of our country will be even 
grander and more glorious than the past, 



308 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 



LIST OF THE PRESIDENTS 



No. 



z 

2 

3 
4 

5 
6 

7 

8 
9 

10 

IT 
12 

*3 

14 
15 

x6 
17 

18 
19 

20 
21 

22 

23 
22 

24 

25 
26 

27 



President. 



George Washington • 
John Adams . • • 

Thomas Jefferson 

James Madison • 

James Monroe . • 

John Quincy Adams . 

Andrew Jackson . • 

Martin Van Buren . 
William H. Harrison* 
John Tyler • • 

James K. Polk . 
Zachary Taylor* . 

Millard Fillmore . 

Franklin Pierce . 
James Buchanan . 

Abraham Lincoln* 

Andrew Johnson . 

Ulysses S. Grant . 
Rutherford B. Hayes 
James A. Garfield * 
Chester A. Arthur 

Grover Cleveland 
Benjamin Harrison 
Grover Cleveland 

William McKinley* 

Theodore Roosevelt 

William H. Taft . 
Woodrow Wilson 



State. 



Virginia 
Massachusetts 

Virginia • 

Virginia • 

Virginia 

Massachusetts 

Tennessee . 

New York . 
Ohio . • 
Virginia • 

Tennessee • . 
Louisiana • • 

New York 

N. Hampshire 
Pennsylvania . 

Illinois • . 

Tennessee • 

Illinois • 

Ohio • • • 

Ohio 

New York 

New York 
Indiana 
New York 

Ohio . • 

New York 

Ohio . • . 
New Jersey . 



Term of Office. 



Two terms; 1 789-1 797 • • 
One term; 1797-1801 • • 

Two terms; 1801-1809 • • 

Two terms; 1809-1817 • • 

Two terms; 1817-1825 • • 

One term; 1825-1829 . 

Two terms; 1 829-1 837 • 

One term; 1837-1841 • 

One month; 1841 . 

3 years and 11 months; 

1841-1845 

One term; 1845-1849 . 

1 year and 4 months; 1849, 
1850 

2 years and 8 months; 
1850-1853 

One term; 1853-1857 . . 
One term; 1857-1861 . . 

One term and 6 weeks; 
1861-1865 .... 



3 years and ioj^ months; 
1865-1869 . • . . 



Two terms; 1869-1877 • 
One term; 1877-1881 . 
Six months and 15 days . 
3 years, 5 mos., 15 days; 

1881-1885 

One term; 1885-1889 . . 
One term; 1889-1893 • 
One term; 1893-1897 . . 

One term and 6 months; 

1897-1901 

3 years, 6 mos., one term; 

1901-1909 

One term; 1909-1913 • 
1913-19— • . t • . 



By whom 
elected. 



Whole people 
Federalists 

Democratic- 
Republicans 

Democratic- 
Republicans 

Democratic- 
Republicans 

House of Rep. 

Democrats 

Democrats 
Whigs 

Whigs 
Democrats 

Whigs 

Whigs 

Democrats 

Democrats 



Republicans 



Republicans 

Republicans 
Republicans 
Republicans 

Republicans 
Democrats 
Republicans 
Democrats 



Republicans 

Republicans 
Republicans 
Democrats 



*Dicd in office. 



Index 



Abolitionists, 262 

Adams, second President, 202 

Aguinaldo (a-ge-nal'-do), 287 

Airplanes, 301 

Alabama, 113, 264 

Alabama, 285 

Alamo* (a'la-mo), 245 

Alaska, 281 

Alden, John, 79 

Alleghenies, 54, 121, 145, 147, 168 (et al.) 

Almanac, Poor Richard's, 175 

Alphabet, Cherokee, 291, 292 

America, discovery by Columbus, 11; by 

Cabot, 22; name, 22 
Annapolis, 58 
Antietam (an-te'-tam), 272 
Appomattox, surrender, 273 
Arizona, 294 
Arkansas, 230, 244, 264 
Articles of Confederation, 170, 191 

Bacon, Nathaniel, 53 

Baltimore, first Lord, 54; second Lord, 

55, 57, 122 
Baltimore city, 58, 218, 223, 228 
Bancroft, 239 
Banks, General, 271 
Barr, Captain, 112 

Beauregard (bo'-re-gard), General, 269 
Berkeley (burk'-li), Governor, 52, 53 
Bienville, (by an'-vel), 97, 110-117 
Biloxi, (bl-16k'-sl), Bay, 111, 113, 117 
Biloxi settlement, 113 
Black Hawk War, 254, 257 
Boone, Daniel, 179, 182, 203 
Boonesborough, 181 
Booth, J. Wilkes, 264 
Boston, 80, 131, 157-159, 165, 173 
Braddock, General, 149, 150 
Bradford, Governor 77, 78 
Bragg, General, 269 
Brevard, Dr. Ephraim, 160 
Brown, Tohn, 262 
Bryant, Wm. Cullen, 238 
Bull Run, see Manassas, 266 
Bunker Hill, battle, 160, 161 
Burgoyne (bur-goin'), 166 

Cables, ocean, 228 

Cabot, John, 21 _ 

Cabot, Sebastian (se-bas'-chan), 22 

Calhoun, T. C, 231, 234 

Calhoun. Patrick, 231 

California, 236, 247 

Canal, The Panama, 287, 288 

Carolina, colony, 60, 63 

Carolina, French fort, 59 

Carranza, General, 297 



Cartier, Jacques (zhack kar-tya'), 97, 100. 

102, 117 
Cassette girls, 114 
Castell, Robert, 64 
Cervera (ther-va'-ra), 286 

Champlain (sham-plan'), Samuel, 97, 101, 

103, 117 
Champlain, Lake, 103 
Chancellorsville, battle, 272 
Charles I, king of England, 55 
Charles II, king of England, 60, 84, 90 
Charleston, 60, 63, 163 
Chattanooga, battle, 270 

Cherokee language and alphabet, 291 

Cherokees, 292 

Chesapeake, 22, 43, 55, 58, 162, 169, 170 

Chicago, 280, 282 

Chickahominy, 43 

Chickamauga (chick-a-mo'-ga), battle, 270 

Chickasaw bayou (bi-66'), 271 

Chickasaws, 292 

Choctaws, 292 

Clark, George Rogers, 183, 184-187 

Clark, William, 206 

Clay, Henry, 231, 238 

Clermont, steamboat, 219, 221 

Cold Harbor, battle, 273 

Colonies, general view of, 119; groups, 

120-123 
Colonneh (co-lon'-ni), 244 
Columbus, Christopher, early life, 1-6; 

discoveries, 7-15; old age and death, 

15, 16; results of discoveries, 21. 
Columbus, Diego (de-a'-go), brother of 

Christopher, 3 
Columbus, Diego, son of Christopher, 9 
Concord, skirmish, 158, 159 
Confederate States, 259, 264, 271 
Congress, Continental, 158, 161 
Congress, under the Constitution, 191 
Connecticut, colony, 82 
Constitution, present, 191-193 
Cooper, J. Fenimore, 239 
Cornwallis (korn-wol'-is), General, 169 
Cotton gin, 196, 197 
Creek Indians, 214, 215, 292 
Crescent City, 114 
Cuba, 13, 16, 283, 287 
Cumberland Road, 234 
Custis, Mrs. Martha, 150, 151 

Dare, Virginia, 33 

Davis, Jefferson, 251, 255-260 

Debtors, oppressed, 64, 65 

Decatur (di-ka'tur), Lieutenant, 208 

Declaration of Independence, 163, 165, 

203 
Delaware, Lord, 49, 52 



309 



3io 



INDEX 



Delaware, colony, 90 

De Leon, Ponce (pon'-tha-da-la-6n'), 23-25 

De Monts, Sieur (de-mon' syur), 101 

De Soto, Ferdinand, 25, 26 

Detroit, Fort, 184 

Dewey, Admiral, 284 

Diaz, President of Mexico, 297 

Dinwiddie, Governor, 147, 148 

Donelson, Fort, 269 

Donnacona (don-na-ko-na), Indian chief, 

99 
Dowling, Lieutenant, 271 
Dred Scott decision, 261 
Duquesne (doo-kan'), 149, 150, 151 
Dutch, 73, 91-95 

El Caney, battle, 285 
Electricity, Franklin's studies in, 176 
Electric light, 281; cars, 281 
Elizabeth, Queen, 30, 36, 59 
Emancipation proclamation, 275 
English Turn, 112 
Erie, Lake, battle, 212 
Expositions, 282 

Farm Loan Banks, 296 

Ferdinand and Isabella, 9, 15 

Field, Cyrus W., 229 

Filipino (fil'i-pe-no), 287 

Five Civilized Nations, 292 

Flag, American, 163 

Florida, 25; purchase of, 163, 250, 264 

Forrest, General, 275 

Franklin, Benjamin, 172, 177 

Fredericksburg, battle, 272 

French fishermen, 22; explorations, 97- 
117; territory, 109, 117, 154, 204; set- 
tlements, 101, 109, 113, 114; war, 145- 
154 

Frontenac (fron'-te-nak), 104 

Fulton, Robert, 220, 221 

Gadsden Purchase, 249 

Galveston, battle, 271 

Gates, General, 166 

Genoa (jen'-o-a), 3, 4 

Georgia, 63-70, 120, 121, 122, 157, 165, 

167, 168, 196, 215, 230, 252, 264, 270 
Germantown, 88 
Gettysburg, battle 272 
Ghent (gent), 215 
Goethals, Col., 288 
Goffe, Colonel, 85 
Gold, discovery of, 247 
Goliad (go'-li-ad), massacre, 246 
Gorgas, Dr., 288 

. Gosnold (gos'-nuld), Captain, 39, 40 
Government Control of Railroads, 302 
Grant, General U. S., 269, 270, 273, 274, 

275 
Great Meadows, battle, 148 
Greene, General, 167, 169 

Hadley, Indian attack upon, 84 
Half -Moon, ship, 93 
Hancock, General, 275 
Harvard College, 127 
Havana, 16, 118, 283 
Hawaii (ha-wi'-e), 287 
Hawthorne, 239 



Hayne-Webster Debate, 237 
Hayti (ha'-ti), 13-16 
Henrietta Maria, Queen, 55 
Henry, King of England, 30 
Henry, Patrick, 184, 199, 201 
Henry, Prince of Portugal, 6 
Hobson, Lieutenant, 284 
Hochelago (ho-sha-la'-ga), 98 
Holland, 72, 91, 92, 94 
Hood, General, 270 
Hooker, General, 275 
Horseshoe Bend, battle, 244 
Houston, Sam, 241-246 
Hudson, Henry, 96, 98 
Huguenots (hu'-ge-nots), 112 

Iberville, d' (de-ber-vel), 97, 110-114 

Illinois (il-i-noi'; noiz'), 183, 230, 254 

Income Tax Law, 296 

India, western route to, 7, 13, 93, 104 

Indian, Sequoyah, 290-293 

Indian Territory, 292-294 

Indiana, 187, 230 

Indians, name, 13; in Virginia, 43-47; in 
Maryland, 56; in Georgia, 66-69; in 
Massachusetts, 74-78; in Pennsylvania, 
86-88; in New York, 94; in Canada, 
98; in Mississippi, 113; in Louisiana, 
115; in Kentucky, 180-182; in Tennes- 
see, 188-189; Houston's life among, 
243, 244. 

Inventions, recent, 281, 282 

Iroquois (ir-o-kwoi'), 103, 151 

Irving, Washington, 238 

Isabella, Queen, 9, 10, 15 

Isthmus of Panama, 101, 289 

Jackson, Andrew, 210-217, 242, 244 

Jackson, General Stonewall, 267 

Jamaica, 14 

James, king of England, 36, 4C, 89 

Jamestown, 40 

Jasper, Sergeant (Sar'-jent), 163 

Jefferson, Thomas, 198-200 

Johnston, General Albert Sidney, 269 

Johnston, General Joseph E., 270 

Kaskaskia, 183, 185 
Kentucky, 179, 183, 233, 255 
King's Mountain, battle of, 167, 169 
Knights of Columbus, 305 
Knights of the Golden Horseshoe, 53 

Labrador, 22 

Lafayette (la-fa-yef), General, 167 

Lake Erie, battle, 212, 213 

La Salle, Robert Cavalier, de, 197, 104, 

109, 112, 117 m 
Lawrence, Captain, 213 
Lee, General Robert E., 271-275 
Lee, General S. D., 275 
Le Moyne (le-mwan') Brothers, 97, 109 
Lewis and Clark expedition, 206, 207, 249 
Lexington battle, 159 
Liberty bell, 163 
Liberty l,oan, 300 
Liberty statue, 282 
Lincoln, Abraham, 251-255, 258-264, 275, 

307 
Locomotive, first, 224 
London Company, 39 



INDEX 



3 1 



Longfellow, 239 

Longstreet, General, 275 

Louis, the Great (166'-i), 106 

Louisiana, 106-109, 110-117, 205, 241, 246, 

271, 282 
Lusitania, 299 

Magellan, Ferdinand, 27 

Maine, battleship, 283 

Maine, state, 102, 121, 219, 230 

Manassas, or Bull Run, first battle, 266; 
second battle, 272 

Manhattan Island, 94 

Manila Harbor, battle, 284 

Mansfield, La., battle, 271 

Marquette (mar-kef), Father, 105 

Maryland, 54-58, 120, 122, 157, 195, 201, 
272 

Mason and Dixon's line, 58 

Massachusetts, 71-80, 82, 120-121, 160-161, 
196, 230-231, 234, 237 

Massasoit, Indian chief, _ 77, 78 

Manretania (mo-re-ta/-ni-a), steamship, 
222 

Mayflower, ship, 72, 74, 76 

McAdoo, W. G., 303 

McCormick's reaper, 238 

Meade, General, 272, 275 

Mediterranean, 3 

Mexico, 101, 241; war with, 119, 245, 247, 
297, 298 

Michigan, 184, # 187, 230 

Mississippi River, discovered, 26; ex- 
plored, 105-113, 183; contest for, 270 

Mississippi, State, 101, 111, 190, 230, 239 

Missouri Compromise, 236 

Missouri, state, 183, 230, 235-6, 239, 271 

Mobile Bay, 112; city, 113 

Monroe Doctrine, 236, 237 

Montcalm (mont-kam'), General, 153 

Montgomery, Ala., 264 

Monticello (mon-te-sel'-o), 201, 202 

Montreal (mont'-re-61), 100, 109, 117 

Morse, Samuel F. B., 226-228 

Mosquitoes in Louisiana, 115 

Moultrie (mol'trl), Fort, 163 

Mount Vernon, 194 

Murfreesboro, battle, 270 

Musgrove, Mary, 66 

Nacogdoches, 242, 245 

Natchez, 113 

Necessity, Fort, 148 

Negro Slaves, 51, 62, 133, 134, 197, 

260-262, 276 
New Amsterdam, 94 
New England, 47, 71, 82 
New England boy of colonial times, 123- 

133 
Newfoundland, 86, 97, 100 
New France, 97-119 ^ 

New Hampshire, 82 
New Jersey, 90. 91 
New Mexico, 294 
New Netherlands, 94, 95 
New Orleans, 114-117, 204-205, 215; 

battle, 213; capture, 270 
New York, 91-96, 167, 169 
New York city, 165, 193, 218-219, 195 
Nolichucky (nol-i-chuk'-i), 189 



North Carolina. 32. 59-63, 120, 264 
Nova Scotia, 101, 102 
Nullification, 237, 238 

Oglethorpe (o'-g'l-thorp), James, 64-70 
Ohio, 187 
Oklahoma, 293-294 
Oregon, 207, 216, 249, 250 

Pacific Ocean, 27, 207, 280 

Pacific railroad, 280 

Palmetto, 61, 62, 163 

Palos (pa'-los), Spain, 8-10, 14 

Panama Canal, 287-289 

Pelican, ship, 110 

Penn, William, 83-91 

Pennsylvania, 83-89, 166 

Pensacola, 111 

Perry, Captain Oliver H., 212, 213 

Pershing, General, 298 

Petersburg, 273 

Philadelphia, 85, 157, 163-167, 174-176, 

195, 204, 282 
Philadelphia, ship, 208-209 
Philippine Islands, 27, 286, 287 
Pilgrims, 72-79 

Pine trees of Carolina, 60-61 
Pirates, African, 208, 209 
Pitt, William, 151 
Pleasant Hill [La.], battle, 271 
Plymouth, 75 
Plymouth Company, 39 
Pocahontas, 45, 49 
Poe, Edgar A., 239 
Polo, Marco, 7 

Port Hudson [Miss.], 270, 271 
Port Royal, 102, 117 
Porto Rico (por-to-re'c6), 283, 286 
Portugal, 5, 9 
Portuguese (por'-tu-gez), 6 
Potato, 35 

Powhatan (pou' ha-tan')> Indian chief, 45 
Prescott, 239 
Price, General, 271 
Princeton, battle, 166 
Printing press, 175, 176 
Priscilla Mullins, 79 
Providence, R. I., 82 
Puritans, 79, 80 

Ouakers, 83, 85 

Quebec, 99, 100, 117 

Quebec, battle, 153 

Quincy, (kwin'-zi) Josiah, 123-133 

Railroads, 223-226, 302 

Raleigh, Walter, 29-37, 38, 39 

Reconstruction, period, 279 

Red Cross, 303, 304; Junior, 304 

Revere (re-ver'), Paul, 158 

Revolutionary War, 155-17 

Rhode Island, 81-82 

Rice plant, 61, 62 

Richmond, Va., 264, 267, 271-273 

Roanoke Island (ro'-a-ndk), 33 

Rochelle (ro-shelO, HI 

Rolfe, John, 49 

Roosevelt (ro'-ze-velf), 286 

Rosecrans, General, 270 

Sabine Pass, battle, 271 
St. Augustine, 101, 119 



312 



INDEX 



St. Lawrence, 97, 99 

St. Louis, 206, 282 

St. Mary's, 56, 58 

Salem, Mass., 80 

Samoset (sam'-o-set), Indian chief, 77 

Sampson, Admiral, 284 

San Jacinto, battle, 246, 247 

San Juan (san-hwan')> 285 

San Salvador, 13 

Santiago (san-te-a'-go), battle, 285-286 

Saratoga, battle, 166 

Savannah, Ga., 66 

Schley (Shli), Admiral, 284, 285 

Scott, General, 247 

Secession, 263 

Seminole Indians, 215, 292 

Sequovah (se-kwoi'a), 290-292 

Seven Days' battles, 272 

Sevier (se'-ver'), John, 169, 179, 187-190 

Shafter, General, 286 

Shenandoah (shen-an-do'-a), 53 

Sheridan, General, 275 

Sherman, General, 270 

Sherrill, Katherine, 188, 189 

Shiloh, battle, 269 

Smith, John. 38-48, 71, 92, 93 

South America 15, 28 

South Carolina, 60, 61, 62, 225 264 

Southern boy of colonial times, 133-143 

Southern colonies, 38-70, 120 

Southern progress since the war, 279 

Spain, 8; war with, 283-287 

Spottswood, Governor, 53 

Spottsylvania, battle, 273 

Squanto (skwon'-to), Indian, 77 

Stamps, Thrift and War Savings, 300 

Stamp tax, 156 

Standish, Myles, 74-79, 91 

Standish, Rose, 76, 79 

Steamboats, 219-223 

Stephens, Alexander H., 264 

Stephenson, George, 224 

Stuart, General, 275 

Stuyvesant (sti'-ve-sant), Peter, Governor, 

95 
Submarines, 299 
Sumter, Fort, 266 
Swedes, 90 

Taxation of the colonies, 156, 157 

Taylor, General Richard, 271 

Taylor, General Zachary, 247 

Tea Party, Boston, 157 

Telegraph, 226-229 

Tennessee, 20, 168, 187-189, 211, 239, 242, 

264, 269 
Texas, 107, 219, 230, 241-249, 264, 271, 

280, 292 



Thanksgiving Day, 78 

Thomas, General, 275 

Tobacco, 35, 51, 58 

Tomochichi (to-md-che^-chi), Indian chief, 

66-69 
Tonty, 112 

Travel, modes of, 137, 218, 225 
Travis, Colonel, 245 
Trenton, battle, 166 
Tripoli (trip'-o-li), 209 

United States, independence declared, 
163; acknowledged by England, 170; 
first constitution, 170; present constitu- 
tion, 191; territorial growth, 205, 215, 
249, 250, 281, 287; future of, 307 

Valley Forge, 166 
Vermont, 182 



Vespucius (ves-pu'-shus), Americus, 
Vicksburg, 270 

Vincennes (vin-senz'), Ind., 185 
Virginia, 32-54; 120-122, 133-143, 
194, 232 



23 



169, 



War, French, 145-146; of the Revolution, 
155-171; of 1812, 211-215; with Mexico, 
247; between the States, 266-273; with 
Spain, 283-287; with Germany, 298-307 

Ward, Xancy, 188 

Washington, George, boyhood, 133-143; 
major, 146; colonel, 148-153; general, 
155-169; President, 193-196 

Washington city, 195, 213 

Wautauga (wa-to'-ga) River, 187 

Webster, Daniel, 231, 233-238 

West Indies (west in'-diz), 13 

West Point Academy, 257, 273, 274 

West, progress of the, 280 

Wheeler, General, 286 

White, Governor, 33 

Whitney, Eli, 196 

Wilderness, battle, 273 

William and Mary College, 141, 198 

Williams, Roger, 81-82 

Williamsburg, Va., 53, 142 

Wilson's Creek, battle, 271 

Wilson, Woodrow, 295-297 

Winslow, Edward, 78 

Wisconsin, 187 

Wolfe, General, 153 

Wood, Colonel, 286 

World's Fairs, 282 



York, Duke of, 90 

Yorktown, Va., 170 

Young Men's Christian Association, 

305 



304, 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: Oct. 2011 

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